


Variables

by periwinklefield



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, spooky monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 42,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23238601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklefield/pseuds/periwinklefield
Summary: Annie and Jeff deal with the fallout of a world in distress while coping with their histories together and their lives that occasionally drift apart. There will be ample appearances from other group members. Most chapters will involve flashbacks as well as present-day events.And by the way, there are monsters in this one.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 108
Kudos: 230





	1. The Deep Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie fights to escape both man and monster in the Colorado wilderness.

**May 2020**

_Somewhere in the Colorado wilderness_

Makeshift shelters occupy the more passable areas of the trail Annie is on. Shanties from _Before_ and hasty lean-tos from _Now_ serve as temporary cover from the elements and the indefinable creatures that newly inhabit the area. Groups of travelers periodically huddle together within the walls of these structures under the guise of numerical, _statistical_ safety.

It is in one of these structures that Annie finds herself resigned to rest for one night and one night only. She will pick up the next day and keep going, being both faster and quieter on the trail when unencumbered by others. Her small size, academy training, and inherent stealth allow her the speed and dexterity to navigate the crudely blazed Colorado trails. She had traveled for a few days with a young family earlier in the month, learning then of the dark, almost _too_ natural way in which each member was picked off during their trek together. She was naïve then and she knows now to stop remembering the names and faces of her fellow travellers.

The rain starts around midnight and it’s a cold rain, drowning out the night-sounds and the twig-breaks of nocturnal movements. Three sentries triangulate their positions around the clearing, each with modest, struggling fires and weapons in hand. This particular settlement has three main cabins sectioned between traveling women, families, and lone males. These divisions happen almost unwittingly and certainly unspoken among the travellers. No talk really occurs at these places, nothing meaningful anyway, especially not as the sky darkens and the birds take roost. Mothers mumble soothingly to the smallest children; anyone over five years of age has learned the importance of becoming and staying quiet by nightfall.

The number of travellers is skewed this time. There are too many males. People are battening down wherever they can, regardless of gender or propriety. This unnerves Annie as it has become a pattern she recognizes and tries desperately to ignore. Families are dwindling in both numbers and completeness. Women are disappearing and she can’t shake the dark thought that this trend may be due to factors beyond flesh-eating creatures. She shudders as she pulls her sleeping bag closer to her chin, both saddened and terrified that there are some _things_ _(people)_ more evil than the monsters that were wreaking havoc across the nation ( _was it across the world now, too?)_

Annie scans the dark pavilion of the shelter one last time for reassurance that it’s safe to close her eyes. Earlier in the evening she’d noticed three men, seemingly always in her periphery by the campfire or in the shelter. She occasionally caught the stare of one of them before losing it again when their faces dissolved into whispered mumblings. She is no stranger to the general unease that dangerous men can elicit, especially during times like these when any semblance of honor has vanished along with the social media coverage of it. A fleeting smile crosses her face as she imagines a Britta diatribe about dismantling the patriarchy, complete with animated hand gestures and hyperbolic misuse of “the facts, Annie, okay?”

A rumble of thunder reaches her ears as she burrows further into the corner of the room. Tightening her grip on the holstered blade on her thigh, she takes one last look around before letting sleep overtake her. Her last thoughts are of the rain, the fluttering of the tattered sheet in the open window above her, and the prying eyes of the three strange men nearby.

***

**April 2018**

_Greendale, Colorado_

_“He seems nice, Annie.” Jeff says in a gravely whisper while shuffling his empty glass back and forth across the table. He straightens his tie and meets her eyes reluctantly._

_“Aaaand…?” Her slow eyebrow raise sends Jeff’s gaze back down to the table._

_“A-And I think you should give it a shot? Is that what you want me to say?”_

_Annie nods slowly, not as much in answer to what Jeff offers but in consideration of what she should say next. Jeff beats her to the punch in typical fashion with confidence in full swing._

_“I mean, look at him. What’s not to like? He can keep up with those two goons.” He nods towards Troy, Abed, and Annie’s New Guy huddled together at the bar. “He must be smart because he likes you, and I’m sure he’s achieved like a Platinum Level card to all the Pokémon gyms.” His self-congratulatory smirk surfaces in response to Annie’s eye-roll. “In fact, I’m insulted that you think I wouldn’t even like the guy.”_

_“Can we, just for a moment, recall what happened with Vaughn, Rich...” Jeff doesn’t let her finish._

_“Come on, Annie, you’re not helping your case.”_ He crosses his arm and leans back in his chair smugly.

_“…David of Christmas 2016? Remember what happened with him?”_

_“That was deserved.”_

_“Oh yeah? He mentioned how he felt that analog timepieces were unnecessary in today’s tech-savvy world and you all but excommunicated him from the dinner table.”_

_“His generation doesn’t appreciate the intricacies of fine Swiss engineering.”_

_“You called him un-American.”_

_Jeff’s smirk morphs into a toothy grin as he nudges Annie’s shoulder. She can’t help but return the smile as her eyes travel down to Jeff’s full(er) beard, briefly admiring the salt and pepper hues bordering his mouth. She decides that this is a good look for him. She thinks of him back in 2009 with his strong jawline and ever-present pointy features, of how handsome he was then and how his age has only served to make him more so. His grin falters as he looks to her eyes and then down to her lips._

_He clears his throat as his voice descends another octave._

_“You know the best offer I can give you is a lukewarm acceptance of any guy you bring home.”_

_Annie’s throat constricts at the word ‘home’ and her brow furrows for a nanosecond._

_“Why?”_

_“Because none of them will ever be good enough for you.”_

_It’s at that moment that Mike of Spring 2018 saunters over with Troy and Abed, hands filled with various alcoholic beverages for the group. Annie, transcended into a deeper level of loneliness, accepts her drink and makes room for Mike at the booth. She avoids Jeff’s eyes for the rest of the night._

_Mike of Spring 2018 doesn’t make it to Summer of that year._

*******

**May 2020**

_Somewhere in the Colorado wilderness_

Annie’s not sure what wakes her first, the crash of thunder or the leathery hand that clamps violently over her mouth. She then notices the weight of legs pinning her body down against the ground when a second leathery hand goes to her throat. Her thoughts immediately recall the men that had been lurking in the corner of the pavilion as she drifted off. She should never have stayed here.

She cannot scream, both because she can barely breathe and also because those things are _out there_ and they will come.

She brings her arms up to push against her assailant as his left hand moves from her mouth to her wrist. She feels a crushing grasp on her right wrist as she reaches her left hand down to her thigh. She reaches down to her leg, unbuttoning the sheath of her knife. Overwhelmed and disgusted by the smell of alcohol and poor hygiene, she wretches as she feels his rancid breath on her neck. In one swift motion she frees her blade and drives it up through her sleeping bag and into the man’s thigh.

He screams. _Annie for the win,_ she thinks.

It’s at this time that her hearing is now fully functional, and she hears more screaming in and around the compound. Intermingled with the cries of the travellers are the howls and shrieks several frequencies above what is humanly possible. _They_ are here.

The man sits back on his haunches in frantic realization that a sizable blade now juts out from his leg. Annie wants it back. She wrenches the knife out of his flesh as her attacker hits her left cheek with a right hook. The world around her temporarily darkens, but she is ripped back into alertness as two long, slender, talon-like arms reach through the window above her head and latch onto the man who is now covered in blood. What comes out of his mouth redefines “blood-curdling,”-a sound akin to the death-cry of a desperate animal. The creature’s talons pierce through his back and protrude through his chest as he is extracted from the pavilion and into the night.

Annie lets out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding and makes for the back exit of the structure. She stops in the doorway, remembering her pack, and looks back under the window where it leans. It took days, weeks to accumulate the things in that pack. She would die a slower death without it than if she risks her life now to retrieve it. That _thing_ is busy outside under the window; she hears the crunching of bone and the wet mush sounds of eating raw meat. She grabs her pack as quickly and quietly as possible with knife in hand and exits through the back, leaving her sleeping bag behind.

It’s not much better outside. The sounds of frantic footfall and anguish are replaced by agonal breathing and anguished moaning. It must be a few more hours before sunrise and later still due to the rain and cloud cover. Annie hoists her pack on her shoulders and takes off up the slope, grateful that the things are preoccupied. While her pack is heavy she realizes the benefits of being a petite human as her footfalls are quiet and swift. She cannot see but knows that sight is not necessary in order for her to keep moving.

She hightails it for about thirty minutes before weighing the benefit of getting as far away as fucking possible from the compound versus stumbling upon another feeding frenzy. She finds a suitable tree and jumps up to grab the lowest branch, holding a rope attached to her pack. She pulls herself up and nimbly climbs as high as she can before leveraging the pack up to join her at her temporary resting place. She ties the rope around the pack, herself, and the trunk before taking stock of her new situation. Annie has discovered that those things are poor climbers. The angles of the hooked talons make it difficult for vertical ascents. This is where she will stay for the rest of the night until the light is back. She trails a trembling hand across her throbbing face with a hiss before letting it drop into her lap. She forces her eyes closed as she falls into the limbo between sleeping and wakefulness. The thunder rumbles on.


	2. The Deep End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie's new assignment in Washington proves to carry with it a deadly outcome as she discovers the horrors that lurk in the deep woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is definitely a work in progress and I am trying to stay as accurate as possible with timelines, etc. I imagine that the spooky monsters look like a horrible cross between the creatures in A Quiet Place and Starship Troopers.

**Beginning of April 2020**

_Somewhere outside of Spokane, Washington_

Okay, she gets it. It’s part of the process, part of the long, tedious assimilation into the Bureau. Annie stares out of the car window at the passing scenery as it slowly transforms from urban to rural to more rural and finally into pure wilderness. Her partner fumbles with the radio of the state car while she keeps count of how many times he glances sideways towards her.

Almost four months into her tenure at the Spokane resident field office and she is finally feeling like _yeah, she can do this._ She no longer feels awkward with the weight of her handgun (She hardly has to draw it, _if ever._ ) and can complete an incident report in record time. Things are computerized now so there is no need for purple pens and color-coded notebooks. Her worn, purple backpack that survived through two more years at GWU was replaced immediately by a leather messenger bag her first week at Quantico when she entered the lecture hall and was met with the eyes of weary-eyed grown-ups. Her assignments so far have been shallow-end stuff but she senses that a new deep-end opportunity is on the horizon. 

_Exhibit A: dead body in the forest_

Same presentation as bodies found in both Idaho and Montana. State lines have been crossed and now the situation has fallen under federal jurisdiction. Her partner, Special Agent Phillips AKA Thomas (when it’s just the two of them) AKA Quantico classmate formerly known as Tommy (when they were at the academy together), sidles up to her as they approach the deputy sheriff who stands tentatively at the trailhead. The wiry man acknowledges Phillips briefly and then acknowledges Annie not so briefly.

Pleasantries and introductions are exchanged and the trio heads down the worn path frequented by trail-runners in the area. It’s still daylight, but the thickening tree cover makes it less so.

“Hunting allowed out here?” Agent Phillips already knows the answer but asks anyway.

“No, this is protected land. Just hikers and mountain bikers...” Deputy Sheriff Connor sighs as he continues. “And besides, I can tell you now that no gun did this.”

They approach the yellow tape, a stark contrast to the dark greens and shadows of the forest. Deputy Sheriff Connor holds up the tape for Annie to step under. They are met with other investigators from local law enforcement, but it’s not like in the movies. None of them seem weary of the federal agents, in fact, they almost seem relieved by their presence, as if they are more than ready to have this case taken away and into the hands of the federal government. Annie informed Abed early on in her career that the media does not portray the relationship between local and federal law enforcement accurately. He seemed disappointed at the time but found renewed hope in her half-joke/mention that both sides like to nudge floating bodies across the Potomac so that it falls in the others’ jurisdiction.

_There’s story here,_ he had said.

Annie’s thoughts cease when her foot falls near a small numbered white flag protruding from the soil. It’s not the flag that stops her but the bloody scrap of flesh it serves to mark. Her eyes move to the tree nearby where what’s left of the body lies. Ribbons of skin and chunks of bone, but no recognizable features remain of what the coroner is telling her was once a man. She had heard of similar descriptions of the bodies in Idaho and Montana. The teeth marks in the bones of the other victims were indiscernible and Annie assumes as much for this case, too. Mountain lions, bears, and any number of woodland terrors were possible, but many of the experts and any data found have shown that those animals weren’t known for being such _messy eaters._ Annie and Agent Phillips both click on their flashlights as the forest darkens and the quiet pressure of rain descends onto the treetops. The general dampness of Washington has grown on her and she thinks that her _Advanced Advanced Decomp_ classes will serve her well.

The other officers seem to stir more in the fading light and a general tense feeling begins to spread amongst them. Agent Phillips has a few shallow-end questions answered as Annie circumvents the tree. There are long gouges in the tree, as if some scythe-like object had been used to leave behind the marks. Too wide and long to have been made by human fingernails and extending much higher than that which a mountain lion or grizzly could reach. She takes a step closer with her flashlight, feeling her feet sink slightly into the green, mossy ground as she examines the marks. It is at that moment that a screech rips through the forest.

There is a frantic shuffling of feet and the strobes of flashlights temporarily blind Annie as she hears the first choked scream of one of the officers. She and Agent Phillips simultaneously withdraw their weapons and aim their lights at the sound. She wishes she could forget what she sees: the lifeless face of the first officer hoisted up on long, slender, scythe-like talons that protrude through the man’s gut.

“Fuck, Edison. What the fuck is that…”

Agent Phillips aims his gun at the shadow behind the dead officer and fires. The sound pierces the surrounding darkness as the other officers are scrambling to escape down the footpath. Another screech reaches from behind Annie as a second large creature darts past her and down the path after the officers. She recognizes this moment as a moment to act, to run, to fight, to do anything, yet she stands frozen in one place on the soft, green ground.

Agent Phillips grabs her by the arm, jolting her back into the present, and drags her through the brush towards their car. Her gun hangs limply at her side and her flashlight is not much help in the overgrowth. There are no more screams. She hears the sounds of something big ambling quickly through the forest towards them as they approach the car. Agent Phillips reaches into his coat pocket, searching frantically for the keys. She hears the beep of the unlocking mechanism from the remote. Time begins to slow as she sees a creature emerge from the thick collection of bushes near the car. She fires two rounds to its center of mass only to see the creature bounce back, seemingly un-phased. Her gun jams and what happens next seems to occur in a void of both time and sound. The creature rears its large talon back before delivering a swift swipe across Agent Phillips’ torso. Bright red blood is slung across the ground before him and spatters across Annie’s face. She wipes her eyes between frightened sobs and sees his limp form fall to the ground beside the car as the creature pounces on him again. Another shadowy creature lunges towards her from the darkness. Annie lurches toward the driver side of the car, flinging the door open and attempting to crawl inside. This creature miscalculates its lunge and hurdles into the one eating her partner. She is knocked against the car door and fumbles for her gun again. As the creature reorients itself and refocuses on her, it lifts its head back in a barbaric screech. She clears the jam and fires her gun twice into its exposed neck. Thick, black liquid pours from the gunshot wound and she is granted several crucial seconds to lock herself away in the car. The other creature is preoccupied by her partner as she closes the door.

Phillips still has the keys.

She shakily aims her gun through the barely open window, firing a kill-shot at the creature’s neck again. The hit lands and the revolting death cry that leaves it is muted by Annie’s temporary deafness from the gunshot. This insult only serves to trigger the second creature into slamming against the driver side door as it crams a long talon through the window opening.

In these slow, agonizing moments, Annie hears the second thing resume eating her partner and can hear Phillips gasps for air. She hears a scraping sound on the driver door and gazes out the window to see Phillips holding his hand as high as he can. In his hand are the keys. She cracks the door open and reaches for the keys. Her hand then retreats back into the car as the keys tremble in her fingers. A talon jabs back through the window, gaining purchase in Annie’s deltoid. She lurches back, dropping the keys into the floorboard. She ducks her head away from the swipes of the talon as she reaches blindly for the keys. She can no longer hear Phillips and peaks out of the window to see his lifeless face; it is a visual that will stay with her for many days to come.

She will later recall her phone conversation with headquarters, the muddied reception, denies for her backup requests, and the voice of her superior urging her to get back as soon as possible and to keep a tight heavy lid on the incident in the forest in the dark.

She pulls over when she sees the city lights of Spokane. She opens the door and lurches out of the car onto the side of the road, crawling on her hands and knees to the cool, damp grass. She thinks of her dead partner, his screams, and those _things_ in the dark.

She vomits.


	3. The New Year.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie takes a leap before the New Year.

**December 31 st, 2019 17:30**

**Greendale, Colorado**

It’s only fitting that the culmination of yet another year should take place at The Vatican, still informally known as Britta’s Bar, but _for realsies_ this time _._ As part of Jeff’s self-proclaimed generosity of spirit and rediscovered aptitude for lawyer-dom, he helped her to make it official as a late graduation present for her earlier in the Spring. Her late graduation present to him, about five years too late he decreed, is her announced and successful acquisition of a full-fledged business degree that Shirley, who is still living in Atlanta, says is _nice._

There’s an actual food component to this runaway train. Quality sandwiches and plastic menus offer a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic (milkshakes, Shirley) drinks. The plastic menus are a nod to Britta’s now longtime boyfriend, budding musical artist, and co-producer of the celebrated Indie film _DancePants._ The rest of the bar has stayed essentially the same; the Dean, Chang, and Jeff have seen to that through weekly, “strictly business,” and “for research” visits. What Britta doesn’t know is that Jeff has been sneaking photos of the sandwiches to Shirley in order to gain both her approval and prevent an unannounced inspection from her.

Oh, and Jeff? He not longer works at Greendale Community College, at least not full-time anyway. He has transitioned to teaching night classes (which actually exist now) at Greendale, but his big-time gig now resides at Sturm College of Law in Denver. As it turns out, he inspired/scared the son of a now current Denver Law graduate and his former Greendale student into reenrolling in “real college,” therefore pleasing the father and gaining Jeff an interview at the prestigious school. He couldn’t quite break away completely and still lives in Greendale. He has a house now with boring faucets but large windows and a view of the mountains that he never wants to leave for long.

Annie flew in from Chattanooga, Tennessee earlier in the day, took a quick nap at her hotel (no numbers in the name) and spent the rest of the day bundled up and walking along the paths and parks of Greendale. She doesn’t get back to Colorado often so she wants to absorb as much as she can while she can. Eastern Tennessee has cold winters and deep woods as well, but nothing can replace the feeling of home. She declines Britta’s invitation to stay with her, knowing that the late-night activities of Britta and Troy were apt to be a bit loud, if not altogether disturbing. Abed would be arriving later in the day from Los Angeles and would meet her for coffee before preparations for the night began.

Annie enters the small coffee shop as the sun begins to set. She settles at a booth by the window with a small black coffee while waiting for her former roommate to arrive.

***

**December 31 st, 2019 Sometime Before Midnight**

**Greendale, Colorado**

**The Vatican**

Annie waits nervously by the bar, shifting from one heeled foot to the other. Her New Years getup consists of an emerald long-sleeved mini dress that Abed calls “Hot, hot, hot.” She smiles now at her tall, skinny friend as she watches him embrace Troy who has just arrived. Her eyes continue to flit toward the entrance to The Vatican as she waits for one guest in particular to make his fashionably late appearance.

Everyone else has arrived. The electric buzz of excitement surrounding the successful gathering of the Greendale family has Annie on edge with happiness and something else. She taps the side of her wine glass, takes another gulp, and turns to face the group to witness their merriment. These are her people and her family. Time and distance have strengthened their bonds while also allowing for “new character arcs,” as Abed would say. Her arc thus far has brought her to different corners of the country, given her new scars, unforgettable mistakes, and a career of fulfillment. That is why tonight she is able to confidently identify the one thing that has eluded her so far.

Jeff enters through the door as a few flakes of snow cling to his wool coat. His tall silhouette engulfs the doorway as his eyes scan the inside of the bar. His eyes crinkle and his face breaks into a wide grin when he sees Annie at the bar. His gaze lingers on her form until both Shirley and Troy tackle him with warm embraces. Annie can’t help but smile at the exchange.

After pleasantries are exchanged and people begin to settle in with their drinks at the conjoined tables, Annie gingerly approaches a seat to Jeff’s left side. Even after all of these years it seems that Annie’s seat remains reserved just for her. She will never be able to recall all of the excited conversations spilling out between her Greendale family on that night. Jeff turns to her as she approaches and pulls her small form into his body for a crushing hug. She feels his cheek rest against the crown of her head and she breathes in his heady scent. This exact moment feels like coming home.

Jeff keeps his distance from her the rest of the night.

Annie is baffled and more than a little heartbroken by his inability to stay near her throughout most of the conversations. She owes it to the need for everyone to catch up and tries to shrug off the odd feeling that something major has shifted between them since their last phone conversation. She is more than a little grateful when Britta asks her to take out some empty bottles to the recycling bin in the alleyway. Perhaps some fresh air would help to clear her head and confusion. On her way out of the back door with a cardboard box full of empty bottles she hears Jeff’s deep voice reach her ears.

“Need some help with that?”

Annie smiles up at him with a soft nod as he reaches over her shoulder to push open the exit. She ducks under his arm with the bottles and enters the alleyway. She frowns as she takes note that the recycling bin itself is much taller than she had anticipated. Her breath catches as she feels Jeff approach her from behind. He places his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifts her the rest of the way to dump the green bottles in the receptacle. While at this height Annie has the ability to toss the cardboard box into the appropriate bin next to the bottles. She emits a self-congratulatory squeak as it hits its target. Jeff chuckles and lowers her slowly to the ground, keeping his hands on her waist and his breath against her hair. His large hands are hot through her clothing and she feels his fingers twitch through the satin of her dress. He steps closer against her. They stand like that for a few beats as his breath puffs against her hair. He clears his throat and steps back.

Jeff turns away from Annie and takes a few strides to the door with his head down and hand in his pocket. She notices him scrub his other hand down his face before pausing at the door.

“Jeff?”

He stops but doesn’t turn around.

“Can I…um…talk to you about something?”

He turns around with a furrowed brow, but nods and takes a step towards her.

“I’ve reached the end of my assignment in Tennessee…And the Bureau has this systematic preference system for my next placement. We uh- we talked about this a about a month ago.”

He hesitates.

“I remember.”

“So I’ve narrowed it down to somewhere in Washington state and um….Denver…like I mentioned.” Her speech becomes rushed. “Both are great opportunities and there are no guarantees that I’ll get my top preference but I…wanted to talk to you about Denver. And they seem to like me at Chattanooga so there’s a good chance I may get what I want.”

“It’s a great city, Annie…but uh…Washington has a lot of opportunities, too.”

“I know that. But there’s one thing that Washington doesn’t have…what I’m saying is…um…I’m sorry if this is weird, but…you see, Washington has the coast and the wilderness and Seattle, and sure…. _opportunities_ …”

“Annie…”

“…but it doesn’t have you.”

Jeff’s eyebrows lift and he begins to take steps towards her in the alley. She listens to the sounds his shoes make on the concrete and focuses her gaze on his feet. She can’t tell if she is shivering from the near-January cold or the adrenaline of the situation. If she doesn’t say this now, there may not be another chance. She adopts her formidable face and looks back up.

“And I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable for you to hear, Jeff, but…I think you know why I would choose Denver…I did the things _I_ wanted to do. I left. I made a life for myself on the other side of the country. I love my life and who I’ve become. I did the things I wanted to do. I’m still doing the things I want to do. And I want you. I think of everything that has happened to me and I wouldn’t really go back and do it all over again any differently. And I know that’s what you would want for me, but the thing is, it’s also what I want for myself. I’m not stupid, Jeff. I know you were afraid of limiting me or holding me back, for reasons I will never fully understand…”

“Annie, listen…”

“I don’t even think it’s the age difference anymore. I’m a happy, successful person and so are you. The experiences I have had have changed me forever. You know as much as I do that we have both been through a world of shit. But I wouldn’t do it any differently. What I’m saying is…I still love you. In fact, I never stopped.”

Jeff’s face is a combination of relief, pain, and something Annie can’t quite identify. This look remains as he advances a few more steps towards her. He clears his throat again and tilts his head towards her.

“Annie, I…”

At that moment the door to the bar screeches open, sending reverberations down the alley.

“Jeff! There you are!”

A leggy redhead bounds across the alley from the door and wraps her arms around Jeff’s neck. Before he or Annie fully register the assault, she plants a kiss at the corner of his mouth and flies into a flurry of words.

“My late surgery was canceled so I thought I’d surprise you! I’m still on-call so no drinks for me, but isn’t this great?” Jeff’s hand twitches at this woman’s waist.

Wide-eyed and bewildered, Annie watches the exchange with her heart thumping. The woman turns and hones in on her.

“You must be Annie! Jeff has told me so much about you. FBI’s finest!” With that, the redhead reaches a hand towards her, which Annie accepts.

“Oh…you must be-“

“Kacey!”

“With a Q-U?” Annie mumbles. Kacey gives her a dumbfounded expression, correctly spells her name out loud for her, with a K, and Jeff cringes.

This woman hooks her arm through Jeff’s and directs him back into the bar. A shell-shocked Annie is left shifting her weight from one heeled foot to the other in the alley. The muffled sounds of the commotion inside reach her ears and she lifts her gaze to the cold, clear sky, letting go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding. For a brief moment she entertains the idea of fleeing down the alley and boarding the next flight out of Colorado. But only thirty minutes remain before the ball drops and the year turns over into something new.

Annie reenters the bar and beelines to the counter to pour herself a drink with the nearest bottle she can find. She tops it off with some grenadine because straight liquor is not her wheelhouse and it makes the drink a pretty pinkish red since she’s still Annie after all. It tastes disgusting, but she powers through as she joins Britta and Shirley in a heated discussion regarding the amount of street litter generated in New York City during the end of year festivities. She hears nothing but a roaring in her ears that hasn’t stopped since her confession in the alleyway. She finishes her drink in record time and goes behind the bar to fill her glass again, passing on the grenadine this time.

Turning back around from the shelves of bottles, she notices that Jeff has settled on a stool in the corner by the counter. He is holding a glass of amber liquid and toying with its accompanying soggy coaster. His eyes are on her, unwavering and absolute. Annie notes that Kacey is between Chang and the Dean, fielding questions regarding plastic surgery. Jeff eyes the clear liquid in her hand.

“You’re dating a plastic surgeon?”

“Consider it an act of self-preservation.” His reluctant smirk does not reach his eyes and he can’t bring himself to look up at Annie. He eyes her drink instead when she doesn’t respond. “That doesn’t look like an Appletini to me.”

She returns a curt smile to Jeff as she moves to exit from behind the bar. Her hair falls across her face, partially shielding her eyes as she attempts to skirt past him. He reaches his hand out to her arm.

“Annie, we should…”

“SHOTS!” Chang comes flying over the bar, attempting to slide across the way a cop in hot pursuit would slide across the car in any movie Abed writes.

Annie walks away.


	4. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after the ball drops.

**January 1 st, 2020 01:30**

**Hotel Lobby**

There’s something strange about quiet, empty buildings at night that are otherwise bustling and noisy during the day. Annie’s heels click against the marble floor as she nods to the hotel concierge. She hugs her coat closer as the outside chill is reluctant to leave. Grabbing a cup of hot tea at the desk, she slips out of her heels and curls her legs under her on a couch near the fireplace in the lobby. She could go up to her room but decides that a warm fire is good enough for now.

She stares into the fire and allows a numbing trance to overtake her. The warmth of the alcohol has yet to evaporate. She hears strangers enter the lobby and take the elevator up to their rooms. She knows she should follow suit but is content to stay huddled on the couch in the lobby. She thinks of confetti and loud cheers, and in her mind she sees the sparkles of glitter from party poppers and the gray dusting of a familiar beard wrapped around a wide smile.

The hotel doors open again and she hears the shuffling of feet over the crackling of the fire. She can only slightly hear the mumbled pleasantries between the visitor and the concierge before she recognizes the rumble of a deep voice. The footsteps of the visitor head toward the elevator before pausing and heading back her way.

“Hey.”

She looks up from the fire to see Jeff towering over her in his long, thick coat. His gloved hands are rubbing together and there are some speckles of snow on his shoulders. He pauses before taking a seat on the couch beside her. Annie is briefly reminded of that day years ago when the two of them spent time on a couch in a hotel lobby after a failed ski trip.

She smiles and acknowledges his unspoken request to join her on the couch. He de-gloves and rests his hand near hers on the couch cushion before turning to face her. She stares forward into the fire before setting her mug down on the nearby table.

“Jeff, look, I didn’t mean to throw all of that on you. In fact, I should probably…”

“Throw a drink in my face instead?”

Annie smiles reluctantly at his memory recall and shifts to face him more fully. His arm has moved to rest behind her head on the couch. Jeff flinches momentarily when she eyes her piping hot tea she has placed on the table beside her.

“How did you know I was staying here?”

“Our mutual shaman friend mentioned it in passing. Said it may push the plot along if I knew where you were staying.” Jeff smirks down at Annie, but she does not return the sentiment.

“Does Kacey know you’re here?”

“She got called in for surgery. Some type of firework injury at a frat house. So sad.” Jeff shifts uncomfortably on the couch. “Annie, I need you to know that…”

“Jeff, it’s okay. Really. I should probably be more embarrassed than I am, and maybe that’s because of the vodka more so than my own confidence, but I’m sorry for putting you on the spot. And I’m sorry for misinterpreting our…friendship.”

“Annie, look. There was no misinterpretation. But I’m not sure…I still don’t know…what you want. And I’m only pretty sure that the things you want I can’t give you…” The speech Jeff had formed in his head dissolves into mumbled incoherence as Annie furrows her brow in response.

She remembers the thousands of texts between them over the years, the late night phone calls, the stupid memes exchanged, and the scattered in-person meetings since she left Greendale in 2015. There were spells of time when communication between them would fade and Annie would venture into acquiring and understanding her likes and dislikes and who she was as a woman. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them that the time apart was necessary for personal development, career achievement, and some sort of romantic exploration.

Annie recalls the various love interests over the past few years, the men who anxiously sought her out, and the total lack of spark she felt throughout the entire pursuit. Her fear that she had imprinted on Jeff dissolved as she became fully aware of his flaws and misplaced swagger over the years. In spite of, or maybe because of, his ego, snark, and general waywardness, Annie had grown to understand that love is so completely imperfect and unrelenting, but wholeheartedly worth it. 

Jeff had flown in when she graduated from the academy in 2018, bringing most of the Greendale crew along in tow. She can still perfectly recall the smile on his face at the dinner that night and how he lingered by her side with his hand on the small of her back until the party dispersed. He had leant down to kiss her cheek, let his lips linger at the corner of her mouth, and whispered to her how proud he was.

All of that seems like a distant dream as she stares at Jeff now across from her on a couch in a hotel lobby.

“I have never asked for anything from you. I’ve never set up hoops, never made things complicated…” Her voice begins to break and she closes her eyes and takes a slow breath. “I thought that we…”

“You should expect the world from someone…and you should get it. You deserve the grand romantic gestures and the heroics. There is so much more for you out there. If we tried this and I lost you, I’m not sure…”

“So you’d rather give up now instead of taking a risk with us?” Tears slowly fall down Annie’s face as she looks to Jeff.

“Not if that risk involves the possibility of losing you…or-or bringing you down to another level.”

“But Kacey is worth the calculated risk?”

“There is no risk with Kacey.” Jeff’s tone becomes curt and he averts his gaze.

“So that’s it then?” Annie wipes her face and focuses a steely gaze back on the fire.

Jeff stuffs his gloves into his coat pocket and stands.

“I guess so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise things will get better.


	5. The Deep End, Revisited

**Beginning of April 2020**

**Spokane, Washington**

How Annie makes it back to Spokane HQ she will never know. She is met at the gate by three other cars filled with people she has only briefly met at meetings that she’s hardly privy to attend. A tall man guides her by the elbow into the back of one of the sedans. Before the door is closed he begins to speak.

“Edison, I’m sure you understand the importance and relevance of an immediate debriefing regarding what you saw.”

“Yes, but…my partner…”

“We’ve seen what those things can do, so the likelihood of Agent Phillips being savable, let alone his body salvageable, is absolute zero.”

“Wait, you already know about those things?”

The tall man looks out of the sedan window into the night before answering.

“The Bureau has been following these events, these sightings, since the beginning of March. We thought maybe grizzly bears, mountain lions, Hell, even Sasquatch, but we were not expecting to find what we found.”

“What you found…” Annie’s thoughts revert back to the dark forest, the screeches and inhuman wails of a creature she could only fathom in the deepest depths of her worst dreams. She sees Agent Phillips’ lifeless face in her mind and swallows down bile as she rests her head against the cool glass of the window.

They arrive at HQ, and she is again hauled by the elbow into the facility and into a brightly lit room with a table and chairs. An assistant hands her a small towel and bottle of water.

“You have a little…” The assistant motions to the dried blood on her face. Annie scrubs her cheek with the towel before taking a seat.

The next two hours are filled with her recollection of the events in the forest. She is informed that more agents, along with local law enforcement, are on their way back to the scene for “clean up.” Forms are shoved in her face, her signature requested multiple times, and an informal gag order is placed. She blinks through the encounter as the clock nears 4 AM.

Another hazy car ride later and Annie finds herself back at her apartment. After unloading her service weapon and placing it on the table by the door, she disrobes and heads to bed. The adrenaline is waning and all she can feel is numbness and a deep sense of dread. She collapses in a delirious heap on the bed and falls into a restless sleep.

***

_Flashback_

**November 20 th, 2019**

**Greendale, Colorado**

Jeff is most definitely _not_ sulking on his 45th birthday. Retiring to his Greendale office with a bottle of scotch and ZERO youth pills seems like a great way to pass the evening quietly. He still retreats back to Greendale instead of Sturm’s campus when he is feeling contemplative or possibly in need of some scotch. He feels as if he has successfully shielded texts and phone calls for the majority of the day and can now turn the ringer back on. Annie had sent him a selfie earlier in the evening of her holding a beer in toast of his survival of yet another Chang-filled year. He revisits that photo now to grab a more detailed look at her smile, crinkled nose, and elegant fingers around the bottleneck of the beer.

He feels ridiculous.

As if by some force of God knows what, his phone rings in his hands, startling him back to reality.

_Annie Edison Calling…_

Jeff swipes to answer with a deep sigh, concealing the wide smile on his face.

“Agent.”

“Professor.”

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Jeff, it’s not even midnight. Are we sure it’s not past _your_ bedtime birth-…”

“Don’t.”

“…birthday boy.”

“You wound me.”

“What’s on the agenda tonight, Professor? A little scotch, a little SportsCenter, some hot number…”

“Annie, you had me at scotch.”

She laughs into the phone and he can hear the glee in her voice.

“Happy birthday, Jeff. I mean it.”

“I know you do. That’s the only reason I answered.”

“How are your classes going?”

“Oh, you know…” He leans back in his chair and crosses his legs on his desk. “Pretty painless so far. It’s amazing what you can get done when your students aren’t convicts, fake math teachers, or senile old men.”

“Jeff, you know you miss us.”

He pauses before answering as he leans forward to place his scotch on his desk, contemplating his next words carefully. “I miss you, specifically, and only you, specifically. Don’t tell anyone.”

Annie doesn’t coo through the phone, and Jeff is a bit unnerved by her silence. He clears his throat and racks his brain quickly for some way to change the subject.

“I miss you, too, Jeff.”

Abed would call this moment “The Ramp Up,” but before Jeff can fully imagine what Annie is going to say next, she continues…

“Um, you know my contract is up soon in Tennessee.”

“You’re not renewing for another year of cracking down on meth and Big Foot?”

She forces a laugh. “While that sounds _very_ tempting, I was thinking of something a bit more west.”

“Annie…”

“Nothing set in stone, yet. But I am feeling a bit homesick.”

“Annie, do _not_ feel homesick for Greendale, please.”

“It’s not Greendale.”

“It’s Chang, isn’t it?”

Annie makes a frustrated sound over the phone. “Jeff. I’ve been thinking about home…of what home means to me. And um…you’re part of that, of course. The Denver office has a lot of amazing things going on.”

“Annie, you have a lot of amazing things going on. Wherever you go. Please don’t feel as if your happiness is tied to a specific place.”

“Okay.”

“…unless you think the transition would be worth it. If it’s worth the risk to come back out here.”

“It has always been worth the risk, Jeff.”

“It’s just that…the Colorado you remember may not actually be what you thought it was.”

“I’m well aware what Colorado is like. That’s why I want to come back. It means everything to me.”

Jeff scrubs his face down his beard and conceals his sigh from the speaker of his phone. It takes everything he has to not demand into the phone that Annie come back immediately and never leave again. He even briefly entertains the idea of her staying with him while she searches for an apartment. He imagines the possibility that she never finds said apartment and decides to stay with him forever. But these are dangerous thoughts that lead to nowhere good.

“Come back when you’re ready…in the right way.”

The silence lasts for several long moments before Jeff hears Annie inhale a slow, shaky breath.

“Happy birthday, Jeff. I’m glad you were born.”

After hearing what is possibly the nicest thing that has ever been said to him from a woman that he could not possibly love any more than he already does, Jeff wishes Annie a good night and that he hopes to see her very soon.


	6. The Debrief

**April 2020**

**Spokane, Washington**

Annie spends the entirety of the next day back at HQ reviewing and reliving the slaughter outside of Spokane. The pain from the puncture wound on her deltoid has begun to surface, despite the excellent medical attention and sutures she received the night prior. She has exhausted every possible explanation for the things that she saw. After an intense fact-gathering morning that leaves her dazed and listless, she is called back to the director’s office for a one-on-one meeting. She is hoping that this is when she can finally get the answers to the horrors she encountered in the forest.

“Edison, take a seat.” The director then slides a glass of what appears to be whiskey across his desk towards her. She sips from it gingerly, appreciating the slow burn that brings her back to reality.

“What I am about to tell you is going to sound like the most absurd shit you have ever heard. There is no precedent for what I am about to tell you. You need to take the next few things I say very seriously.”

“Nothing about this has _not_ been serious, sir.”

“You absolutely cannot share what you saw with anyone. If this gets leaked before we have more answers then we will see chaos of monumental proportions.”

Annie nods.

“These things, they came from the ground. It’s like they’ve been here all along. You encountered them at night. In the dark. None have been sighted during daylight hours. They found the one you killed and they are still working it up now. There are vulnerable spots on what is otherwise a completely armored _bug_. You shot this one in the neck, so good job.”

Annie thrives on praise, but at this point she could care less that she gets a gold star for killing a giant insect.

“How many are there?”

“As far as we can tell, the attacks have occurred as far north as Spokane. Otherwise, it seems that the farther north it is, the less we see them. Maybe they don’t like the cold. Maybe it’s too soon to tell. One thing we have figured out is that they absolutely cannot tolerate sunlight. We caught one in a trap a few weeks ago down in Utah. By the time we got to it the next day the damn thing had _roasted_.”

Annie finishes the whiskey in her glass, feeling emboldened. “So what are we going to do about this?”

“You’re on the next flight to Colorado. That’s where the most attacks have occurred. You’ve seen these things, how they move. You’re one of the few agents that have survived a sighting. Consider it a fact-finding mission.”

“More like a death sentence, sir.”

“We are assuming the first big outbreak will be Colorado given what we’ve seen so far. We need more information, but we’re running out of time. This thing is going to reach the media any day now. If we don’t head this off now there is going to be mass casualties.”

Annie nods silently.

“I’ll email you the details and your flight number. Expect to be down there for a few weeks.”

Annie stands to leave.

“Edison, you’re a Colorado native. You know Colorado. And you’re a smart kid. I’m counting on you.”

Annie nods and exits the office as she contemplates making a stop at the nearest bathroom to vomit.

She finds herself back at her apartment and packed within the hour. Sitting on her couch, Annie stares into the screen of her phone as her thumb hovers over a name in her contact list.

_Jeff Winger_

***

**June 2020**

**Somewhere in Wyoming**

Sometimes Annie hears Jeff’s voice at night. It gets louder and louder until the crescendo awakens her and she finds herself perched in a tree in the darkness. She never understands what he is saying to her, but it reaches her ears with such urgency. When she wakes, she usually situates the rope tighter around the tree and stares listlessly into the black until the sun rises.

Sometimes she hears Abed narrating her progress on the trail, commenting on her meal choices as she settles on another night of dandelions and gooseberries. Annie’s not really sure how Britta has survived on a vegetarian diet for so many years, but all she really knows is that she would kill for some mustard right now. She would even give her right leg for one of Abed’s falafels.

Sometimes she cries to herself at night. Her muted sobs hurt her lungs but she dares not make a sound. As the sun sets she sews another tiny knot into the side of her pack to keep track of how many days have passed. She has lost considerable weight but has grown into a leaner version of herself, capable of jumping and swiftly climbing out of danger. Her skin has darkened in the sun and her nails are broken, short, and constantly dirty. 

Most days are spent walking north. Most nights are spent climbing trees to avoid those _things._ She hears the unworldly screeches in the darkness and can hear the crashing movements in the forest at night. She keeps her blade close at all times, remembering how it came in handy that night against the man who is now dead. She no longer sees people on the trail, and even if she did, she would keep her distance.

She wonders constantly if the others made it to Hickey’s farm safely. Her cell phone died weeks ago, and even if it were still functional now, none of the cell towers seem to be anymore. She thinks about Anthony, hoping he took her advice to head north as well.

Sometimes Annie laughs to herself when she recalls any number of the outrageous adventures at Greendale. While this “adventure” has quickly ascended to the top of the list for being completely inexplicable, it definitely brings her no laughter or joy. She would never want to flashback to any of this.

Sometimes Annie sees Jeff on the trail. When the day is especially hot or water sources are far and few between, Annie gives into the hazy unreality that he is standing in front of her with a soft smile or quip about her outfit. She clears the mirage reluctantly and keeps going.

Sometimes she wants to give up. She is tempted to climb down from the trees at night and declare, “Here I am!” Those moments vanish immediately when she thinks about her family around the study room table.

Sometimes the hard days happen. She notes this with another aggressive knot sewn into her pack. She knows it will get better. Hope points, and Annie has plenty of it.

What she doesn’t notice is that one of the three men from that night in the darkness has been tailing her since that gruesome encounter. 


	7. The Night Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie arrives back in Greendale for a baby shower...

**Late March 2020**

**Greendale, Colorado**

Annie didn’t think she would be making another trip to Colorado so soon after New Year’s, but an excited phone call from Britta in February announcing the impending arrival of her and Troy’s “extra cute” baby in September changed her plans. It’s Friday and she smiles to herself in the airport as she waits for her Uber to take her to her hotel. The idea of Britta and Troy’s progeny has Annie excited about the expansion of the Greendale family.

If she is honest, the progression of Britta and Troy’s relationship had been odd at best. Troy returned to the States in 2017 after his extremely long boat “excursion.” He returned with long hair, an even longer beard, and the look of a man who had aged at least ten years since leaving. The group had gathered to meet him at port in Charleston, South Carolina. Everyone, including Jeff, ugly-cried at his arrival. After gathering control of their collective emotions, Shirley declared how proud Pierce would be of Troy. Everyone ugly-cried again after that.

Shortly after that, Troy headed out west to California to chase a mutual dream with Abed. That mutual dream evolved into a wildly successful and wildly strange film _DancePants_ that explored an Arab falafel maker in his journey to breakdance stardom. Annie never fully grasped the message of the film, but Abed acted unsurprised upon this revelation, reminding her of her loose grasp of _Donnie Darko_. She still hasn’t forgiven him for that.

Troy’s millions were quickly divided between Gilbert, Greendale after another paintball catastrophe, and multiple charities that he had discovered while trekking around the planet. It’s probably at that point that Britta really fell hard. The final straw occurred when Troy sheepishly told her he had given a small fortune to a rescue for one-eyed cats in Detroit. He now split time between California and Colorado.

The invitation for the baby shower is elegantly done, reminding Annie of Britta’s hidden talents in event planning and floral borders. She notes that they have two gift registries: Target and GameStop. The latter is no doubt a product of Troy’s contribution.

***

Annie meets Frankie for dinner at a small, quiet diner a few blocks away from Greendale’s campus. The conversation flows easily between the two women. Annie pauses a few times throughout the meal to smile at her dinner companion in complete admiration of her work ethic and drive despite over five years of Greendale exposure. She wonders briefly if she is looking at her future self across the table. She abandons that thought when Frankie’s black, boring phone rings out loud as it sits beside Annie’s phone in its bright, floral case.

“Ms. Perry, how may I be of service?”

Annie hears the telltale sign of Britta in crisis on the line. She takes a sip of her wine, cricks her neck, and is ready to jump into action. After another minute or so of silence from Frankie, she hears her clear her throat and interrupt Britta.

“I actually have Annie with me right now. Rest for the evening and we will take care of it.”

Annie waits for Frankie to end the call before raising her eyebrows at her across the table.

“Britta is afraid there is not enough time to decorate tomorrow before the shower. So you and I will take care of things this evening. Everything is already at Greendale and ready for staging. I take it this will not be a huge imposition on your evening?”

“Of course not, Frankie. Always happy to help.”

“I know.”

They dig back in to their respective meals, pausing often to discuss various anecdotes, news stories, and general updates in each others’ lives. Annie assures her that she is enjoying Spokane and is getting the hang of things at the field office. Frankie sets down her fork and takes a long sip of her wine before clearing her throat.

“You left pretty abruptly at New Year’s.”

“Oh…uh….I was pretty tired. Had a lot to drink, too.”

“Jeff said you had a work issue come up.”

“He did? Oh…yeah, that too.”

“You’re lying.”

“Okay thanks for that, Abed.”

“None of us really knew about Kacey either, or else we would’ve mentioned it. Jeff has been keeping a lot to himself lately.”

“Sure, but I don’t really know why you’re telling me this.”

“Of course you do. Annie, it’s been how many years? Surely you understand that I have your best interest in mind.”

“Can we…not talk about his now?”

“Of course, Annie.”

Annie finishes her wine and beckons for the check.

***

**Later that evening…**

They arrive on Greendale’s campus and it’s hard to tell at night that anything has actually changed since she left. Annie finally gave up her spare keys a year or so ago and follows in behind Frankie to the study room. Several cardboard boxes of decorations and vases of flowers have been placed on the table. Annie clicks on the lights and begins to take stock of what the boxes contain. Britta has actually left a written plan for the decor and it’s the first and only time Frankie and Annie will follow her explicit directions. This is the one thing that can’t possibly be Britta’d.

Unsurprisingly, Britta’s design for the study room is impeccable and things begin to fall into place nicely in about thirty minutes. About an hour into their efforts the decorations are finally in place. Annie takes a few steps backward towards the exit of the study room to take in the full picture. She backs right into a warm wall that was definitely not there a second ago.

“What are you doing here?” Annie feels warm arms turn her around and she finds herself peering up into the steel blue eyes and wide smile of a 6’4” giant.

“Jeff?”

“Oh, Jeff.Good it’s you. Hang this.” Frankie strides towards him, putting herself in front of Annie, and hands him some gender-neutral streamers to hang across the doorway.

“Nice to see you too, Frankie.” He follows suit and hangs the streamer effortlessly while throwing quick smiles at Annie. “I didn’t know you were flying in tonight.”

“Oh you know, wanted to make sure everything was ready for tomorrow.”

Jeff takes a look around him, fully appreciating the decorations. “Can you believe Britta is actually good at this?”

“What are you doing here so late, Mr. Winger?” Frankie interjects.

“Making room for the new guy. Spent the last hour trying to re-home all those fetal pigs so he actually has a desk.” Jeff smiles and starts hovering by Annie as she distracts herself with rearranging another bouquet. She looks up with surprise.

“New guy?”

“We had to hire another law professor since Jeff is now only teaching night school.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense…”

“He has big shoes to fill, that’s for sure.” Jeff’s comment elicits an eye-roll from Annie. His grin grows wider.

“If by big shoes you mean figuring out what to fill class time with instead of hours of Planet Earth, then yes, he has his work cut out for him.”

Jeff looks at Frankie and gives her a smart-ass nod and curtsy.

Annie finally allows the grin to break free on her face. She then makes sure all of the chairs are pushed under the table and ready for tomorrow. Her hands linger on her old chair and she glances up to see Jeff staring at her intently.

“Well I guess that just about does it for tonight. Annie, I don’t mind dropping you by your hotel if that works?” Frankie is putting her coat back on, not noticing the meaningful glances being exchanged between Annie and Jeff.

“Oh, um. I think I’ll stick around a while and catch up with Jeff if that’s okay.”

“…sure. I’ll see you both tomorrow at eleven.” Frankie sighs and seems concerned with Annie’s decision but exits the library quietly and without protest.

Annie performs a final sweep of the study room and seems pleased with the result. She turns to smile politely at Jeff.

“It’s good to see you.” She says, failing to find any other thing to actually say to him in the moment. He envelops her in a tight, totally platonic hug.

“Likewise. How’s Spokane?”

“Great!” Annie breaks the embrace and begins to shuffle party favors around nervously on the table before Jeff gently touches her elbow.

“I hope you mean it.” He steps back into her personal space and Annie is bombarded by his warmth and the faint scent of his cologne.

“Of course I do. It’s beautiful there, and um, the people are great. The place is really great!” Annie avoids eye contact as she takes a few steps back.

“Well I guess it sounds great then.” Jeff soft smile has been replaced by a frown.

“How’s Sturm?”

“Definitely a departure from Greendale, but things are working out so far.” Jeff begins to pick at a bow that is draped across his old chair. “It’s…um…not the same of course.”

“Of course.” Annie gives him a sad smile. “Still liking the new house?”

“Yeah, it’s nice and Chang-free.” Annie smiles again but is struggling to keep the conversation afloat.

“Jeff, I-“

“Look, do you wanna grab a drink or something?”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Yesssss?” Jeff’s face scrunches up in uncertainty as he drags out his answer.

“It’s getting late, I should probably get a lift back to my hotel.” Annie lifts her phone up to access her Uber app, but Jeff places a large hand on her wrist and lowers her phone back down.

“Nonsense, I’ll take you.”

Annie is at a crossroads and is unsure if she should read into this offer or take it at face value. She takes the jump and nods at him with a soft smile.

“Sure.”

Jeff has a new Lexus now and as Annie climbs into the front seat she wonders who else usually rides along with him. His usual passenger must be a bit taller than she is. She then remembers Kacey's long legs and notices a lipstick in the cupholder. She swallows down the heavy ache in her throat.

“That’s not really your color, Jeff.” She directs his attention to the lipstick, watching his jaw tense and his grip tighten on the steering wheel.

“New year, new me, right?”

“How’s Kacey?”

“Fine.”

“She seems nice.”

“Annie, don’t-“

“Look Jeff, you can’t keep acting like she doesn’t exist. You can stop with the kid-glove treatment.”

“I just…I don’t…she’s great, but what she is to me…and what _we_ are…”

“Don’t. Be fair to her, Jeff. I should never have assumed anything about us. I put you on the spot. You owe me nothing.”

“Annie…I owe you…every-”

“We’re friends, Jeff. I’m a big girl now. I’m okay. I want you to be happy.” _No matter how_ _transparently self-destructive or empty our desires may be_ , she thinks.

“You mean so much to me, Annie.” Jeff’s Lexus approaches the drop-off in front of the hotel. He slows to a stop, keeping his gaze straight ahead. There had been a great deal of radio silence between them since January. He had missed her daily texts, silly pictures, and serious emails. She had become his best friend since she left Colorado. And now all of that was beginning to disintegrate into nothing. “I need you to know that.”

When Annie had pulled him aside in that alleyway on New Year's, his first instinct had been to sweep her off her feet, leave the party, and ride off into the sunset. But then Jeff remembered all of the sacrifices, compromises, and broken promises Annie had experienced in her life. Shitty parents, shitty high school, shitty drug addiction. He could _not_ be another reason for her to adjust or restructure her life and her plans. Sure, he sat on the sidelines while she dated other men since leaving Greendale. If he's honest, it made him sick at times to imagine those young idiot men rutting up against her in the dark. But he also knew that he may be incapable of providing her with the love that she truly deserved. This thing with Kacey had evolved from an occasional fling to a more predictable pattern that Jeff had complete control over. He didn't really need Kacey and she didn't need him. Anything with Annie had the guarantee to be wholly original, raw, and filled with the ultimate risk of potentially losing her. 

“We all mean so much to each other. It’s okay.” Annie reaches to unbuckle her seat belt before exiting the vehicle. “We’re okay.” Her soft smile that she gives him is genuine enough despite the fact that she is fracturing inside.

Jeff risks a glance at her face illuminated by the lamps at the hotel entrance. “Good night, Annie. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Jeff."


	8. The Baby Shower

**Late March 2020**

**Study Room F**

**Day of the gender-neutral, completely non-traditional baby shower**

**10:00 AM**

Annie arrives early, balancing her brightly-wrapped gift, luggage, cookie cake, and coffee as she tries to maneuver the library door open. She is nearly successful when the cookie cake decides to mutiny and slide off of the top of the gift. Her last ditch effort to save the personalized dessert becomes unnecessary as a stranger swoops in from behind and captures the container.

“Got it.”

She looks up into the face of a very tall and very handsome stranger as he opens the door more fully for her.

“Oh wow, thank you! Really. You saved it.” Annie re-steadies the container in her hands.

“ _Hello during a random dessert, the month and day of which coincide numerically with celebration of your baby’s future expulsion from the uterus,_ ” he reads the loopy icing on the face of the giant cookie.

“It’s an inside joke,” she ekes out and blushes furiously.

“I should hope so.” He gives her a parting grin and wink before he disembarks and continues his long strides down the hall. He is wearing a dress shirt, tie, and actual pants so Annie is convinced that he is most definitely not a Greendale student.

“Thanks again!” She shouts down the hall as he rounds a corner.

Annie flits around Study Room F making sure nothing has found its way out of place overnight. There’s no telling where Chang is actually living at this point and no guarantee that he didn’t emerge from the air vents overnight to scavenge the room for snacks. The intact cookie cake has taken it’s place in the center of the study room table. Her luggage is tucked away neatly in a corner. She takes a few steps back and sips on her lukewarm coffee.

She hears the door to the library open and the singsong voice of Shirley Bennett. She pulls behind her a cooler while balancing a covered dish on top.

“There’s my pumpkin!”

Annie rushes to her to help offload what she is carrying and is captured in a tight embrace with her dear friend. She may be almost thirty years old but she will forever be one of Shirley’s pumpkins.

“Let me help you with that.” Annie pulls the cooler over to the side and begins to unload its occupants and spread the dishes around the table. They catch each other up on what hasn’t already been divulged through texting and protracted phone calls. Shirley asks Annie about Spokane, and Annie asks Shirley about her dying father.

“It shouldn’t be much longer now…” Shirley brushes imaginary crumbs from the front of her dress. “…but he’s happy and comfortable and he gets to see the boys all the time.”

Annie places a soothing hand on her shoulder and gives her a sad smile. “He’s very lucky to have you. We all are.”

Ben Chang, the master or ruiners, chooses that moment to skip into Study Room F with a precariously balanced glass bowl of colorful liquid.

“Party’s here, ladies.” He places the bowl of punch on the table and begins to unscrew the cap on a rather large flask. “And now for the final touches…”

“Change, no!” Shirley sweeps the flask away, re-screws the lid, and places it in her large bag. “This is a _baby shower,_ Ben.”

“Exactly, all the more reason for us non-pregnant folk to get _wrecked._ ” His eyes flick to Annie and he smiles. “Ms. Edison.”

He gives her the least creepy hug he can manage and she finds it almost endearing. She watches him pluck his flask from Shirley’s bag when she isn’t watching.

“What up party people?” Jeff crows as he glides into the study room with Abed. Jeff glances around and a grin forms as he notices the absence of the soon-to-be mother. “Is Britta late to her own party?”

“Shut up, Jeff.” Britta arrives with Troy at that moment and although she is barely showing at this time, she is definitely sweaty and red-faced.

“Oh Brit-ta, you’re glowing!” Shirley coos as she comes in for a hug.

“Thanks, Shirley. It’s from puking and lack of sleep.”

“Au naturale,” Troy beams.

Troy is glowing, too. His impending fatherhood sits well with the thirty-year old. He keeps a hand at the small of Britta’s back throughout the initial greetings with everyone in the room. Annie barely contains her glee when the couple turns to her for welcoming hugs. There was a time when Annie would’ve fought hard to be the lucky gal on Troy’s arm, but now all she can feel is sisterly affection for the young man and his blushing baby mama.

“Annie, look at you! Your hair is so long now!” Annie blushes at the attention from Britta and now from everyone else in the room as they all take in what is arguably the resurgence of Original Annie. She wore her hair down in loose curls, sans barrette. Her gauzy, cream-colored dress is completed with a form-fitting and delicate light green cardigan. She looks up to see a thoughtful expression on Jeff’s face but quickly dashes that away with her next words:

“Britta, look at you! You’re pregnant!”

The group cheers and dives back in to the excitement surrounding the day’s event. Abed joins Troy in a corner of the room, whispering conspiratorially. Annie sidelines her suspicions and moves to help Frankie and the Dean maneuver a rather large diaper cake to the smaller table in the room.

“Ms. Edison, lovely as always to see you,” the Dean squeals and she can’t help but engulf him in a hug. The past few years had been kind to Dean Craig Pelton. He seemed more mellow nowadays, having accepted that he is the Dean of a community college with an actual working website no longer on Angelfire and no more magic wand classes.

Everyone continues to buzz around, catching up and filling their plates with a multitude of snacks and baby-themed foods. Once everyone sits and tucks into their food, Abed clears his throat and exchanges a meaningful glance with Troy.

“I’m sure you are all wondering what hijinks Abed and I have planned for this occasion…”

“Not really,” Jeff inserts dryly.

“…Anyway, it turns out that there are _buttloads_ of baby shower games to play…”

“Gender-neutral ones,” Britta intercedes with a pointed finger.

“Yes, of course, _dear._ Anyway…without further ado…”

“Pow!” Abed reveals a pile of vintage diaper pins in his cupped hands.

“…Oh. That’s nice?” Shirley responds with uncertainty.

“Oh, sorry. Let me explain the rules. Everyone gets one pin on their shirt. If anyone says the word ‘baby,’ then they have to give up their pin to whoever calls them out on it. Whoever has the most pins by the end of the shower gets a _prize._ ”

“I hope it’s a tetanus shot,” Chang adds as he eyes the old, slightly rusty pins warily.

“Those pins are coming nowhere near this shirt, Abed.” Jeff nods down to his overpriced dress shirt.

“I predicted this. Here you go, Jeff. You’re welcome.” Abed presents a diaper pin on a string necklace and places it around Jeff’s neck before he can fight back. The pin has a tiny pink duck on it.

Troy begins passing around the pins, seeming all too pleased at what is about to transpire. Annie picks a pin with a yellow teddy bear on it, treasuring it in her hands and smiling giddily for a brief moment. She then clasps it through her cardigan and looks up to see the rest of the group doing the same.

“It’s somewhat horrifying to think people let these pins near their kids,” Britta says.

“Well, how else do you think people held diapers together back then?” Shirley barks back.

“Velcro was founded in 1951, but didn’t gain full popularity until the 1980s. It’s a portmanteau of the words ‘velvet’ and ‘crochet.’”

“Thank you, Abed,” Britta deadpans. She then turns to Troy and asks quietly, “Maybe we should rethink disposable diapers again?”

“That cloth diaper tied itself,” Jeff throws in.

Annie snorts while drinking her punch and Jeff looks at her with a toothy grin, preening himself for such a timely joke. She watches his smile drop quickly as his eyes move to the person standing in the doorway of Study Room F.

“Kacey?”

“Hi guys! Sorry I’m late!”

The group emits several greetings as Kacey moves in to give Britta a stilted hug.

“Congratulations, Britta! You are glowing!”

Annie hides her smirk with another sip of punch while Britta keeps her expression under control. Shirley moves to fix Kacey a plate while Jeff shifts over one seat to make room for her at the table. He is now sitting next to Annie. She shifts as well to allow him more space as his long legs bump against hers under the table. He gives her what can only be described as an apologetic grin. Annie ignores it.

Kacey glances around the table, taking note of all of the diaper pins adorning everyone’s shirts.

“OH! Are we playing the b-a-b-y diaper pin game? I love that game!” Kacey grabs one of the last remaining pins from the middle of the table and pokes it through her blouse. Everyone digs back in to their plates as Jeff pushes his salad around with his fork. Kacey continues to adjust the pin in her blouse. “So Britta, boy or girl?”

Britta’s sharp look spurs Troy to answer for her. “Oh, we want it to be a surprise.”

“Do you have names picked out?” Kacey replies.

“Well, in Timeline Five, Britta and Troy name their child Chewbacca, so…”

“ABED! What did I tell you about Timeline Five?” Britta hisses.

“Timeline Five is out there, and this might be it.”

“Anywho, Kacey, it’s nice to see you. How’s work?” Shirley intervenes in hopes of improving the conversation.

“Business as usual. Elective surgeries pick up in the summer so I anticipate things will be getting busy soon.”

“Oh that’s nice.”

“Yeah. Summer is time for boob jobs.” Chang declares over a mouthful of chips. He offers a hand up to Troy for an awkward high-five.

The conversation continues to spiral from there but remains oddly appropriate for Study Room F, complete with bursts of laughter, cries of disgust, and general foolishness. Annie feels like she has come home again. She can’t hold back her smiles at Chang’s odd behavior and the Dean’s support of it. At some point she motions for Chang to pass his flask and she sneaks a few sips into her punch. Her flight leaves later that evening so she may as well take full advantage of the occasion.

At some point, Shirley says the word ‘baby’ and quickly loses her pin to Troy. His triumph does not last long as his accidental mention of ‘his baby’ results in loss of his pin to Annie. She then begins to rack them up and her cardigan starts to hang with the weight of her pin victories. She expertly avoids Kacey during the party but is sure to free her of her pin when ‘baby’ slips out during a passing exchange with Jeff.

Annie is not without a few slip-ups, especially when Abed starts playing pop songs of the Britney Spears variety. Jeff approaches her after her most recent ‘baby’ and offers to relieve her of a diaper pin. She reaches to her cardigan to unclip the sharp pin.

“Oh OW!” Annie whips her finger to her mouth, feigning injury and pain. She whimpers and looks up at Jeff through her lashes with teary eyes. She sees his armor start to crumble and she goes in for the kill.

“Annie, are you okay? Jeez. Lemme see.” He reaches for her hand but she keeps it held tight to her chest. “Annie, come on.”

She makes a pouty face and keeps her hand out of his reach. Jeff is starting to get frustrated with her behavior. She sees the breaking point on the horizon where his irritation outweighs his concern. He takes one more step into her personal space.

“Annie. Please. Don’t be such a _baby_.” As soon as the word leaves his mouth Jeff knows he has lost. He drops his shoulders and groans at the ceiling. He fails at keeping his grin and laugher at bay.

“Guess I’ll be keeping the pin after all.” Annie smirks and flounces away with a flip of her hair. Neither of them notice Kacey watching them quietly from the other side of the room.

***

The party begins to wind down after gifts are opened and the cookie cake message is read aloud to the group through Troy’s choked sobs. The diaper pin game is ended by forfeit with no winner as too many feelings were being hurt and too many fingers were being pricked. 

After the exchange of hugs and goodbyes, a few stay behind to help clean up the study room. Shirley, Frankie, Annie, Jeff, and Kacey are picking up the stray streamers and sweeping up the crumbs that Chang left behind. Annie pulls out her phone to summon an Uber to the airport.

“An-nie, your flight leaves in a bit doesn’t it?”

Annie smiles and nods.“Yes, Shirley. They are having us come in tomorrow for a little work. Some weird hiking accidents they want us to take a look into.”

“Would you like a ride to the airport?”

“Oh um no. I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that. It’s really not a big deal.”

“I’ll take her.”

“….”

“You will?” Kacey asks.

“Oh uh, yeah. I gotta go into Denver to do a little work on campus. Big exam coming up for my students.”

Kacey nods dumbly but seems to brush off her confusion while knotting up the final trash bag. Everyone looks up to see the same tall, handsome stranger that Annie ran into earlier enter the room.

“Oh, excuse me everyone.” He enters the room and turns toward Jeff. “I thought I heard your voice. Do you mind if I email you a few of my lesson plans to have you look over?”

“Uh, sure. Good to see you, Chris.” Jeff nods a bit distractedly.

“Annie, Shirley. This is Chris Johnson, or as I like to call him, New Jeff.” Frankie proudly presents the tall man to the group. He reaches out to shake Shirley’s hand first.

“Shirley Bennett.”

“A pleasure.”

New Jeff then turns to Annie and gives her a wide grin and a not so quick once-over, failing to hide his appreciation. “Chris Johnson.” He takes her small hand in his.

“Annie Edison.”

“He’s taking over Jeff’s day classes.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

Annie removes her hand from his grasp and begins to dig her toe on the carpet, trying to avoid the gaze of her new friend. She senses a fresh wave of tense energy roll off of Jeff.

“You know what, Chris, how about we take a look at those lesson plans now?” Jeff steps forward quickly. “Annie, I can meet you back here in thirty minutes and we can head to Denver.”

“Oh, leaving so quickly?” Chris fails to hide his disappointment as he takes a step closer to Annie.

“Duty calls,” Jeff interrupts. He places a large hand on Chris’ shoulder to lead him out of the room.

With the study room now clean and Kacey on her way out the door with the final bag of trash, Shirley embraces Annie again and places a kiss on her cheek.

“Alright pumpkin, until next time.”

Shirley leaves with Frankie and Annie is left alone in the study room. She’s not an idiot. She knows a jealous Jeff when she sees one. But it doesn’t mean anything, right? She sits on the couch and broods for about five minutes before pulling out her phone again and summoning an Uber anyway.

She sends a quick text to Jeff to thank him for his offer and respectfully decline, because really, she doesn't want to be late for her flight. 


	9. The Ambush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Language, blood, and monsters ahead.

**April 14th, 2020 04:30**

**Greendale Community College**

Annie staggers to the library entrance, digs a key from under the welcome mat, and heads to the nearest bathroom on auto-pilot. The sick, fluorescent lighting of the bathroom aids in the nightmarish feeling of the entire day. With trembling fingers, she cleans the abrasions on her forehead and tries her best to close off a gash above her right eye with the flimsy materials from an outdated first-aid kit.

Annie later finds herself pacing back and forth in Study Room F, dark shadows cast across her face by one of the desk lamps in the corner. Her heart has been racing since placing a phone call to Abed an hour ago and divulging all that she can think of regarding the past events. She tells him about those creatures in the forest, he believes her without question, and he gives her time to sob into the phone about the dead. Her torn, blood-spattered FBI jacket is discarded on one of the couches, covering the MP5 gun from one of her fallen comrades. A sheen of sweat seems to be permanently plastered on her skin. Her arm throbs. Her back hurts. She must look like shit.

She turns abruptly at the sound of the library door opening and her fingers twitch at the side where her empty holster remains unbuttoned. She reminds herself that humans can use doors too.

“Annie?” Abed rushes into the study room with a pack thrown over his shoulder. His usually cool demeanor is replaced by a panicked expression. He is fortunately still in Colorado, having taken an extended vacation after the baby shower to provide “emotional support to Troy.” What that actually means is that the two of them are breaking in all of the video games that Troy managed to acquire during the baby shower.

“Hey.” The relief is written on her face as he enters the room. She rushes into an embrace with him, trying to hide the errant tears running down her cheeks. He places his cheek against the top of her head and gives her a few soothing pats.

“Annie, who else knows?”

“Nobody, not yet. How do I tell them? How will they believe me?”

“Do they know to meet us here?” Abed begins to unpack his laptop to get it up and running.

“Yes.”

The library door bursts open and Jeff’s large silhouette eclipses the majority of the light from outside. He rushes into the room, pausing at the entrance to take in Annie’s appearance. It only requires a few strides for him to reach her, and he places both hands on each of her shoulders to take a close look at her face. Annie winces from the pressure on her left deltoid and Jeff immediately notices. His eyes drop to the blood-tinged bandage and his throat bobs nervously. He gently lifts her chin to see the abrasions on her forehead and the butterfly bandage keeping an especially deep gash approximated.

“Are you okay?” He barely speaks above a whisper as he cups her check in his palm.

“Yes,” Annie exhales. He wraps her in an embrace, engulfing her entire being. Her heart slows for the first time in twenty-four hours. A fresh wave of exhaustion crashes upon her.

“Annie? You’re shaking. Please…what’s wrong?” Jeff pleads in a soft voice. He places his hands back on her shoulders, careful to avoid the bandage on her arm.

“Annie, who else are we waiting on?” Abed asks.

Their bubble bursts and both Jeff and Annie look to Abed at the same time. Annie looks from Abed to Jeff and then back to Abed. His stoic face reveals nothing.

“Frankie, Britta, Troy, and Hickey are on their way,” Annie replies. “Shirley is connecting remotely.”

Jeff’s grip tightens on Annie’s arms. “Hickey? He’s in Montana…what the hell is he doing coming to Greendale in the middle of the night?”

“Jeff, I think we should all take a seat and wait for the others to arrive,” Annie sighs.

“What’s with the bandage, Annie? Why are you hurt?” Jeff retreats to defensive tactics, refusing to take a seat while Annie collapses onto the couch with her head in her hands. He hovers and refuses to take his eyes off of her. “What are you not telling me?”

Annie removes her face from her hands and looks up into Jeff’s face with palpable grief. Any irritation he harbors has left him immediately. He swallows hard and takes his coat off, placing it around her shoulders. She thinks back to hours earlier…in the forest…in the dark…

***

**April 13th, 2020 19:00**

**Gunnison National Forest, Colorado**

Annie arrives with the other agents in a convoy of black, inconspicuous SUVs. The trunks are laden with tactical weapons she has only handled in passing at the academy. A collection of SWAT Special Agents are accompanying the mix of rookies and veterans on their way to one of the Gunnison trailheads. Nothing much is divulged during the car ride besides the brief mentions of what others have seen. Annie becomes fully aware that they were all selected because they have _seen_ these things in action. One middle-aged man with wide eyes and twitchy behavior has Annie on edge. Upon closer inspection, she sees the tip of a healing gash peaking out from underneath the man’s collar. She considers the healing wound on her left arm and wonders if it will deter from her ability to fire a gun.

All Gunnison trailheads have been closed temporarily for “Trail Maintenance,” but Annie is confident that is not remotely the reason. A series of campsites have been transformed into a base-like collection of utility tents that are bustling with armed agents. The sun is in its descent and the coolness of the air hits Annie as she exits one of the SUVs. There is a growing gathering at one of the central tents and she is drawn to the crowd and the sound of a voice giving out instructions.

“Tent assignments are on the table to my left, your gear is to my right. Have your badge ready for sign-outs. Get settled and we will meet back here in ten minutes.”

The small crowd disperses to the tables and Annie finds both her gear and tent assignment for the night. They are sleeping here. Or not sleeping, really. She laughs out loud, almost, at the realization that the special agents are only granted the use of their service weapons while the SWAT Special Agents will be using the MP5s from the trunks of the SUVs.

She enters her tent, catching the tail end of a heated discussion between two agents.

“…took his goddamn head off. I might as well just stand out there and wag my goddamn dick at those things. Can’t believe this fucking shit.” The agent, whose badge reads Harrison, wiggles his 9mm in his hand for effect. Annie is both pleased and disturbed by her tent assignment for the evening.

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen one of those things rip through the hood of a car like it was nothing. These tents are a joke. We’d be better off sleeping in the trees.” The young agent speaking is angrily stuffing a sack with his jacket.

A couple of agents chuckle at this last remark but the young agent keeps a serious face.

Annie shrugs into her thicker FBI jacket. Agent Harrison eyes her left arm carefully, piping up when she is fully situated with her wardrobe change.

“You’ve seen them, too, Agent…?”

“Edison.”

“Right, Edison. So what do you think?”

“Well, it’s probably too soon to tell…”

“You sound just like the goddamn federal government.” Harrison nods to her bandaged arm. “You were attacked.”

“I got lucky.”

“Well hopefully you didn’t bring any of that ‘luck’ out here tonight.”

Annie rolls her eyes before stepping back and bumping into another female agent.

“Excuse my partner, he’s angry that he’s missing _The Bachelor_. Agent Caldwell.” The agent shakes Annie’s hand, ignoring her partner’s middle finger in her periphery.

A few more jabs are exchanged between the agents as they exit the tent and huddle in front of the main tent again.

“Alright agents. Each of you had an assigned team leader by your name at check-in. This is Agent Charles…” He points, “Williams…” points again,”…and McFadden.” His final point lands on a huge, scowling man. He is Annie’s team leader. “A few ground rules. Stay together, stay alert, and stay quiet. You know why you’re here. You’ve seen these things move. They’re fast. Do not run. They will outrun you. Do not scream. They will hear you.” He ends this motivational speech by waving off the agents to their appropriate team leaders.

Annie shivers and takes several steps towards Agent McFadden who acknowledges her with a nod. He is a SWAT Special Agent. In fact, all of the team leaders are. Several of her group mates are the same. She is experiencing severe gun envy as her team leader begins to speak.

“Ok, folks. Listen up. I am Agent McFadden. We are East Trail Team One. We will be taking the East Trail. Here are your maps.” He hands a laminated paper to each agent before beginning again. “Each orange dot represents an agent. Stick to the formation. Weapons ready at all times. SWAT Special Agents in front. If you’ve fired at one of these things then you already know they have some kind of plated armor. But they are still just giant bugs with soft bellies. Attack from underneath. I’m assuming we won’t make it far on the trail.”

“Sir, why’s that?” Agent Caldwell asks.

“They’ll find us first.”

“Then why are we here?” Agent Harrison pipes in.

“East Trail Team Two is tasked with catching one of these. We’re just flushing them out. Just some housekeeping.”

"You can’t be serious.”

“Like a heart attack, sweetheart. Just stay close to your new best friend and you’ll be fine.” McFadden ends the conversation with Harrison with a smirk.

The group descends upon the trail as the sun finally disappears behind the mountains. Flashlights click on and silence takes over. Annie keeps readjusting her grip on her 9mm as she follows in the footsteps of her SWAT partner. The ground grows softer on the trail and her feet sink into the earth with each step.

It doesn’t take long. The entire group has been trudging quite loudly through the forest. A loud screech ahead tears through the forest and the group halts in its progress. An answering screech comes from their right. The sounds of something large crashing through the foliage is getting closer. Weapons are drawn.

“Listen carefully. Kill the one on the right. Flush the other left.” Agent McFadden orders. He seems unfazed by the sounds of the monster crashing through the forest. Annie wonders if her team leader has actually seen one of these things.

Annie readies herself and tries to slow her breathing. Flashes of her dead partner’s face and those things race through her mind. She feels her feet sinking further into the earth. More screeches are heard from the front and from the right. Those things must be just beyond the reach of their lights. Fingers hover carefully over the triggers.

Annie inhales and readies her gun as the first creature bursts into the clearing, towering approximately eight feet tall with long talons, large black eyes, and a sharp, beak-like prominence on its face. The shocked look on McFadden’s face contorts into horror as it easily tears through his torso.

Half of the group gasps in horror while the other half begins to fire. The bullets easily ricochet off of its back.

Then Annie feels the earth begin to shift.

The ground gives way and the entire group falls into a deep depression in the earth. Annie tries to gain purchase on the side of the hole as one of the creatures appears at the edge. Its first swipe is unsuccessful, but the next catches Agent Harrison on his leg.

“Goddamn son of a bitch!”

Annie lands on her back at the bottom of the hole along with the other agents, but she is able to fire off a round into the lower thorax of the creature. Its scream deafens her as she tries to regain the breath that has been knocked out of her. The second creature descends into the trap, gutting two more agents. Their dead bodies land on top of Annie, pinning her to the bottom of the dugout and knocking her weapon away from her. She lays pinned to the ground by the literal dead weight, trying to gain purchase on the ground. Just when she thinks she can pull out from under her fellow departed agents, the large beak-like mouth of the creature shoves the bodies aside and scrapes against her forehead. She holds stock-still and stops breathing as she starts to smell her own blood trickling down her forehead. Its jagged maw opens in front of her face, and before Annie fully registers her actions she is grabbing onto the mouth, snapping it closed with all of her strength as it jerks away, rearing its head back violently and launching her into the air and out of the hole.

She lands on her back with a grunt as the creature emerges from the hole. She rolls to her right several times and latches onto an MP5 left behind by one of her dead SWAT mates. Without much ceremony or finesse, she fires the weapon into its center of mass, straight into its belly. It rears back and Annie fires again.

The recoil from the MP5 is nothing like a paintball gun.

The creature topples over and lets out a death rattle of sorts. Its partner has been successfully flushed to the left, but Annie can hear the group of agents from East Trail Team Two screaming in terror and pain. She makes it to her feet and staggers to their location. There is a least a half dozen of those things swarming the team. The distant screams from the third squad promise very little success as well. The flashlights of the dead lay askew on the soft earth.

“Those things set a fucking sand trap, Edison.” Agent Harrison hobbles up beside her as he reloads his newly found MP5. “Where the _fuck_ is our backup?!”

Agent Harrison fires several times into a group of the bugs. He takes out one but the others take notice and begin barreling towards them from about one-hundred meters away.

“Climb! Climb the trees! Just climb!” The young agent from earlier sidles up beside them. He then takes off up one of the nearby trees, climbing out of sight.

Harrison looks at Annie and they simultaneously decide to follow suit. Harrison’s injured leg prevents him from a quick ascent so Annie makes the last-minute decision to help push him up the same tree as the young agent. She then turns to another tree and scrambles from branch to branch in time to avoid the ambush.

She watches from above as those things scramble to gain any purchase on the trunk of her tree. Their long, sharp talons, while excellent for evisceration, are quite useless for climbing. Their lack of climbing skill does not prevent Annie from heading further up the tree and out onto a large limb.

After about fifteen minutes of failed attempt to reach the agents, the creatures retreat back to the carnage nearby to eat. The agents listen silently as the creatures consume the remains of the teams.

It’s nearly midnight now as the agents remain perched in the trees.

“Seriously though, where is the backup?” The young agent asks.

“There is no backup,” Agent Harrison scoffs.

“But surely they would’ve considered…”

“Don’t you get it? This was a suicide mission. I highly doubt the Bureau expected any survivors. That creates liability. _Witnesses._ ”

Annie listens to the continued whispers between Harrison and the young agent. The creatures are slowly slinking away from the attack site. The adrenaline is wearing off and her guard is dropping. About an hour later a sound, heavier than the footfall of those creatures, is heard approaching their safe haven. The continued crashing of whatever it is combines with blinding, bright lights.

A black SUV pulls up under the trees. A door opens quickly and a ragged voice reaches her ears.

“Get in now. Now.”

None of the agents hesitate to descend the trees and quickly climb into the vehicle. Annie lands in the passenger seat and the SUV takes off before her door is even fully closed. She looks to the driver and sees that it is a very haggard Agent Caldwell. Her clothes are bloody and her right ear is holding on by a few scraps of flesh.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” Annie says.

Agent Caldwell barks out laughter as the SUV speeds up. They’ve hit one of the service roads and the SUV peels down the path. Things fall silent amongst the group as they make distance between them and the slaughter. Annie cradles her MP5 and lays her forehead against the cool window, falling in and out of sleep for the next two hours. She begins to recognize the sights that are passing by and is startled back to full alertness.

“Please…please can you stop ahead?”

“What?! Where? At a _community college_?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t be serious, Edison.”

The look Annie gives Agent Caldwell seals the request, and a few short minutes later Annie is being let out of the SUV into the Greendale student parking lot.

“We’re not staying, Edison. Agent Caldwell’s ear is literally falling off.”

“Where will you take her?” Annie asks.

“Uh, the hospital?”

“And what will you tell them?” Annie thinks about the consequences of breaching Bureau contract and confidentiality. She decides that those _things_ out there are much worse.

“A goddamn bear. Who cares?! You think the Bureau gave a shit about us back there?” Harrison asks.

Annie nods to him, places a soothing hand on Agent Caldwell’s shoulder, and gives a meek smile to the young agent.

“I’m sure we’ll be in touch,” Harrison remarks as he closes the door and the SUV leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was pretty dense. I'll be moving more into group interaction and Jeff/Annie territory soon.


	10. The Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Britta figures Jeff out.

**November 25th, 2019**

**The Vatican**

The door to the Vatican swings open and a tall figure slouches onto a stool at the furthest corner of the bar. Britta knows who it is without looking away from the table of customers she is schmoozing with (Shirley calls it performing the duties of good business etiquette). She continues her conversation with the table until she hears Jeff’s put-upon sigh and the telltale sign that he is in need of her presence for his own benefit. Britta bids farewell to her patrons and meanders over to the stool where Jeff is sitting.

“You know you can ask the bartender to make your drink instead of waiting for me to do it, right?”

“Yeah, but then I won’t get it for free.”

“You’re a law professor at a top university. I’m sure you can pay for your own scotch.”

“But it’s my birthday.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Well, it _was_.”

“Alright, but only because I can tell that you are on the verge of another existential crisis.”

Jeff seems shocked that Britta may actually be on to something until he follows her focus down to the Greendale faculty badge that is still clipped to his shirt. He removes it like it is on fire and slides it away from him across the sticky bar.

“Alright, non-birthday boy, here you go.” Britta slides a scotch across to him.

“Thanks, Britta. Put it on my tab.”

“Go to hell.”

When Britta doesn’t see Jeff’s usual smirk and punch-inducing smugness, she leans across the bar and peers into this face.

“You okay?”

He grunts in reply and takes a sip of his drink.

“Is forty-five really that bad?”

The look that Jeff gives Britta tells her that his age is actually the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. She nods and busies herself by wiping down some glasses behind the bar while stealing glances at him from the corner of her eye.

“Okay. So. Trouble in paradise. Let’s see…” She sets the final clean glass down and taps a finger against her chin. “Did the Dean buy a house next-door to yours?” No response. “Hmm, okay. Let me know when I’m getting warm. Is teaching actually more work than _Planet Earth_ and refilling the ice chest in your desk?”

Jeff rolls his eyes and takes another drink, replaying in his mind the ceremonial dumping of his ice chest and purging of his _Planet Earth_ collection when he finally matured into real teacher-dom at Sturm. He may or may not have shed a tear as he watched the ice melting on the sidewalk outside of Greendale. He still has a few DVDs saved for a rainy day at night school.

“Man, I am striking out tonight.”

“Britta, I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Your beleaguered sighs speak otherwise. Matters of the heart?” Britta says as she cringes.

Jeff gives her another look that tells her how ridiculous that sounds and how even more ridiculous it is that she is actually right. _Jackpot_ , she thinks.

When Jeff doesn’t elaborate any further on matters of the heart, Britta moves on to glancing over an inventory list behind the bar, occasionally glancing over as Jeff stares into his glass.

“Did Shirley leave her obligatory birthday song on your voicemail last week?”

Jeff smiles weakly and nods while swirling his glass.

“Did the Dean do another Marilyn Monroe rendition for you this year?”

Jeff nods, gulps down the rest of his drink, and sets down his glass with a loud thud.

“You should’ve heard the message Shirley left me for my 39th birthday. Something about the propriety of marriage, live-in boyfriends, and women in their forties.”

“Sounds inspiring,” Jeff mumbles.

“Oh for sure. But not as inspiring as Annie’s birthday card containing a bucket list for women in their thirties.”

Britta notices Jeff stiffen at the mention of Annie’s name and the mysterious matters of his heart become a bit more apparent.

“So uh, did Annie send _you_ a bucket list?”

“No…we spoke on the phone for a bit…”

“Oh really? How’s she doing?”

“Fine.”

Britta pours Jeff another scotch, hoping that it will lubricate the rest of her investigation.

“She’s close to wrapping up her assignment in Tennessee, yeah? Did she say where she’s going next?”

Britta knows all of this. She spoke with Annie briefly in October. When asked about potential locations for her next transfer, Annie responded with vague remarks about home, personal goals, and the importance of variables.

“Uh, let’s see,” Jeff feigns contemplation. “Washington state…somewhere in the Pacific Northwest…” Jeff trails off, but Britta is able to decipher the mumbled words ‘Colorado’ and ‘home.’

“God, it would be so great to have her back in Colorado, wouldn’t it?” Jeff looks down at his hands and avoids her question. “Maybe she could finally uncover all of that evidence about Rich’s serial killer past that you are so convinced exists?”

“Alright, well this has been great.” Jeff downs the rest of his drink and moves to stand.

“She talked to you about coming home, didn’t she?”

Jeff pauses and nods slightly as he reaches out to procure his faculty badge from the bar.

“And what did you tell her?”

“What do you mean ‘what did I tell her?’”

“Well I’m sure she asked you about your opinion? She listens to you.”

“Yeah well, maybe she shouldn’t,” Jeff bites out.

“Jeff, what does that even mean?”

“It means that she shouldn’t come back just because she’s homesick for something that may not even be worth it.”

“Do you mean Greendale?”

“What? Oh, um, yeah.”

“Because she would be going to Denver. Not the same.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No I really don’t.”

“Look, what I’m saying is that Annie should do what she wants. Not what she thinks is safe. Not what she thinks others need from her. What _she_ wants.”

“Do you even know what that is?”

Jeff’s total lack of answer reveals the very core of what Britta is digging for. She’s gotten really good at this psychology thing. Give her fivesies.

“Are you really that dense, Jeff?”

His nostrils flare and Britta grabs his shoulder to sit him back down at the corner of the bar with an apologetic grin.

“Listen. Remember how when we first met and you pointed out how I struggle to relate to my fellow woman?”

“That’s an understatement, but go on.”

“I think you’re underestimating Annie’s ability to make an informed decision about her life. I think we’ve all been guilty of thinking that she’s too young to know what she wants or what she’s capable of.”

“That’s absurd. She’s going to be president…”

“You’ve put her on some type of pedestal. She’s human. And she’s also an adult. Way more mature than you are.”

“Thanks for that, Britta.”

“What I’m _trying_ to say is that maybe this naiveté that we all fear that Annie still has is actually just optimistic resiliency…or resilient optimism. I haven’t figured out which one but I’ve now coined both terms and I’m trademarking them.” Jeff holds his hands up in forfeit.

“I just don’t want her to make a life decision based on her perception of what others want or need from her…”

Britta rolls her eyes and continues. “She kicked a drug habit against the wishes of her parents who wanted everything swept under the rug. She went against the very desires of her own family and gained financial independence…when she was only eighteen!”

“Okay, so she’s superwoman. I already know this.”

“Then if she wants to come back home, let her…”

“But what if it’s not enough for her?”

“You mean, what if you’re not enough for her?”

Jeff freezes with raised eyebrows, but doesn’t refute her claim.

“Listen Jeff, I’m not stupid. I’m also not blind. I’ve seen how you are around her. And if there was any justice in the world she would’ve kicked your ass to the curb years ago.”

Jeff smiles reluctantly at this.

“Annie has learned to take care of herself. You wouldn’t be the only reason she wants to come back home. Don’t flatter yourself, you pompous ass.” Jeff then flicks a piece of soggy napkin at Britta’s face. “She knows what she wants, and if you are willing to listen, she’ll tell you. But you have to _listen._ ”

After a few moments of silence, Jeff pretends to get a call on his cell phone. He nods to Britta, throws a twenty on the bar, and leaves.


	11. The Scenario

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gathers in the Situation Room.

**April 14th, 2020 04:30**

**Greendale Community College**

“Annie… _Annie._ You okay?”

Annie jerks her head up, returning from her memories of the past 24 hours, and finds herself staring into the very concerned face of Jeff Winger. Up close she notices that his hair is flat from sleep and there are still creases on his face from his pillow.

“S-sorry. Yes, I’m okay.”

“What’s going on?”

“We should wait for the others,” Abed interjects from his chair as he types away on his laptop.

Jeff stands while keeping watch on Annie. “Then give me the abridged version while we wait.” It’s not really a request. He is becoming visibly irritated and begins clenching and unclenching his fists. Annie shakily reaches out and grasps his hand with her small one, giving his a reassuring squeeze. It seems to work momentarily as the tension leaves his shoulders and his jaw relaxes.

“Jeff, something bad is happening. Some type of national emergency.”

“Okay, but why are you hurt? Who hurt you, Annie?”

She squeezes his hand again, releasing it as Troy and Britta enter the room in a flurry of pajamas, jackets, and what looks like a Spiderman sleep mask pushed up on Troy’s forehead. Frankie arrives a few short seconds later looking fully awake and braced for whatever news Annie has to share with the group.

Annie stands, letting Jeff’s jacket slide off of her and down to the couch. Britta gasps as she takes in Annie’s appearance.

“Jesus Annie, what happened?”

“Everyone should take a seat, Shirley is connecting now,” Abed tries again to divert the attention away from Annie as she begins to grow even more uncomfortable.

Jeff walks slowly and closely behind Annie as everyone else quickly sits. Abed slides his laptop to Shirley’s place at the table. Her face appears on the laptop. The light from an Atlanta sunrise can be seen peaking through the window on her screen. Shirley’s father had passed away shortly after Britta’s baby shower. Annie had been unable to attend due to the needs at the Bureau, but she had been able to speak at length with Shirley about her loss. Shirley seemed relieved, and guilty about that relief, but was able to accept the good parts with the bad when dealing with the death of a parent who had suffered from a terminal illness. Shirley doesn’t speak when her screen becomes visible but smiles warmly at who she can see of the group sitting around the table.

“Hey everyone. I uh…I need to say some things…tell you some things. I’m not really sure how to do this.” Annie struggles to begin. “There has been…an outbreak of sorts. At least in this area, perhaps further. Definitely beyond here too.” She shifts uncomfortably in her chair, giving a pleading look at Abed when she struggles to find the next words.

“What Annie is trying to say is that something bad is happening. And she wants us all together to figure out the next steps.” Abed’s stern look stays any initial outbursts from the group. “Troy?”

“Hey buddy.”

“Remember all of the scenarios we imagined we would need a bug out bag for?”

“Of course.”

“This is Scenario 48.”

Troy’s eye widen briefly before nodding sagely at Abed. Annie’s jaw drops in disbelief, Britta looks even more confused, and Jeff’s agitation rises.

“Hellooooo, what’s happening? What’s Scenario 48?” Shirley’s voice coos across the laptop speaker.

“I’ll take this. If my memory serves me right,” Troy winks at Abed, “Scenario 48 is when the nation is overrun by a non-zombie alien monster…”

“Monsters plural.” Abed adds.

“Sorry, yes, _monsters_. And the entire nation must fight to survive in a post-apocalyptic state while _also_ …”

“Probably the entire world…” Abed adds again.

“Right.”

“Guys!” Annie slams her hand on the table before wincing from the pain in her arm. Seeing Annie hurt again drives Jeff to stand, lean forward, and place both hands on the table menacingly.

“Well this has been great guys. But if you don’t mind I am now going to take Annie to the hospital while you two work this out. Whatever ‘this’ is.” He heads to the couch to grab both his jacket and Annie’s. His angry expression is replaced by one of shock when he lifts Annie’s bloody jacket to find the MP5 underneath. His reaction draws the attention of the entire room as they all stand to see what has caused Jeff to be taken aback.

“Annie?”

“Miss Edison, I’m sure you know about Greendale’s paintball policy,” Frankie implores.

“Frankie, that’s not a paintball gun.”

“What are we looking at?” Shirley stretches forward on the screen to see what everyone is gasping at.

“This is real,” Annie says quietly.

The group erupts into chaos, shouting, and scattered conversations. Frankie begins to lecture Annie about bringing weapons to campus, Britta heatedly interrogates Troy about Scenario 48 and the ratio of gold coins and condoms to actual useful items in his bug out bag, and Jeff steps away to make a phone call.

Abed leans forward to his laptop and starts talking quickly to Shirley, divulging everything that Annie had told him on the phone a few hours prior. Shirley’s work with the brilliant but trouble Southern detective in Atlanta had helped to expand her acceptance of the odd and hardly believable. Abed starts asking her about her boys, Jordan, Elijah, and Ben, who now reside in Atlanta and share time between Shirley and Andre.

“Shirley, I think it would be wise to start moving your family north. These things seem to struggle in the cold.”

“Andre has family in Maine. I could get them up there pretty quickly…but wait. Are we sure this is happening, Abed? I would never want to cast aspersions on our government, but wouldn’t we have been notified of this by now?”

“Shirley, our government has been shown to sit on national crises for months before leaking anything to the public and I…”

“What’s going on here?!” Chang and Craig fling open the study room doors. “Why weren’t we notified of this secret meeting?”

“Chang, how did you even find out about this?” Annie turns away from the argument with Frankie to pose her question.

“We have a right to be here,” Craig sobs.

Annie’s face drops and she steps away from Frankie to the middle of the room.

“No, sorry. You’re right. Of course you do. Everyone we love should be here as we try to figure this out.”

“Figure what out?” Craig asks.

This results in the room breaking out in to argument again over the ‘truth’ and what that actually is. Chang and Craig are pulled into conversation with Britta and Troy.

“EVERYBODY SHUTUP!” Annie yells. “Most of you haven’t even heard what I have to say.” She takes her chair again at the table. “Sit. Down.”

The collective group members take their seats. Both Chang and Troy silently battle it out before each conceding to half of the chair.

“We can call it an animal. There is some type of animal on the loose. Except it is unlike any animal we have ever seen. It’s fast. It can kill you in a second. It killed my partner.”

“Oh An-nieee.”

Annie waves off the condolences from the group before continuing, “The Bureau is failing at containing them. They are in the forests, they are in the dark. Guns work,” She acknowledges her weapon, “but only sometimes. A group of them decimated approximately fifty agents about two hours from here. Four of us made it out. The federal government is keeping a tight heavy lid on this as you can imagine.”

“I did recently hear about a couple of lost hikers near here,” Britta ponders out loud. “But this is ridiculous. It’s probably mountain lions right?”

“I wish it were.”

Annie’s cellphone vibrates in her pocket. She pulls it out to see that Buzz Hickey is calling.

“Buzz, it’s Annie, I have you on speaker.”

Craig gasps excitedly before settling back in his seat.

“Edison, I’m not going to be able to make it to Colorado today. They shut down the goddamn tarmac. Some type of emergency with the ground crew. There are a bunch of ambulances and police out there.”

Annie swallows down bile as she places the phone on the table. She puts her head in her hands and takes a shaky breath.

“That’s okay, everyone is here.”

A mingled collection of deflated greetings are offered to the phone on the table.

“Alright, alright. Hi everyone. What’s going on, Edison?” Hickey still calls her Edison despite the father/daughter relationship that has slowly developed over the years. She sends him ironic Father’s Day cards every year and he still acts like it pains him to give her hugs as he fights to conceal his smile.

Annie opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Abed. “Buzz. Nadir here. We have a Scenario 48 on our hands.”

“I see,” Hickey replies. as if all of his questions have all been answered.

Annie’s jaw drops again in disbelief as she comes to terms with the possibility that, _of course,_ Hickey had been involved in Troy and Abed’s post-apocalyptic planning.

Britta and Frankie simultaneously open their mouths to protest the new reality that Hickey has accepted, but Annie abruptly stands with her phone and leaves the room to continue her conversation with him. Kacey enters through the front doors of the study room as Annie exits out the back door into the hallway. They do not see each other.

While Annie is out in the hallway divulging all of the details about what she has seen to Hickey, Abed is in the study room doing the exact same thing for the rest of the group. Kacey sits dumbfounded and incredulous at the situation. Jeff had called her at such an early hour to come ‘stitch up a friend,’ and she sits sipping her coffee and wondering what all of this is really about. After another sip of coffee when Abed has finished the last chunk of information that Annie has given him, Kacey stands and pulls Jeff to the outside steps of the library. The sun is beginning to rise, but luckily it is Spring Break for Greendale and the grounds are a ghost town.

“Jeff, are you sure she’s not just exaggerating about all of this? Chang told me about the lost pen incident ten years ago.”

“This is different. I believe her. She wouldn’t risk her entire future with the Bureau if this weren’t an emergency.”

“Right, but this entire group always seems to find themselves in insane adventures that barely make any sense.”

“I can assure you that this is different. Have you seen Annie? She’s been attacked.”

“She also broke through a closed sliding-glass door hopped up on pills.”

Jeff bristles and removes his hand from her arm as he steps back. “What are you saying?”

Kacey senses the change in his demeanor and decides between backpedalling or trudging forward. She chooses the latter.

“I’m saying that she’s still just a kid. She probably saw some wild animal and then added all the other details in her mind later. She’s overdramatizing something she saw in the woods. And then she decides to get you riled up about it,” Kacey adds, “And for _some_ reason it worked.”

Jeff stays silent for a moment, contemplating his next words before he speaks.

“You know what? We can talk more about this later. But right now, I need you to patch up Annie. Please. She needs help and there’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to make her go to the emergency department.” 

Kacey curtly nods and lifts up a bag to show Jeff that she came prepared. He considers it luck that he is dating a plastic surgeon who can expertly stitch up anything and leave very little evidence behind. For some reason it comforts Jeff knowing that Annie should not have any permanent scars from the attack.

***

“Hey Annie, do you mind coming to my office for a minute?” Jeff places a gentle hand on her shoulder as she wraps up her conversation with Hickey in the hallway. She turns to see both Jeff and Kacey standing before her.

“Oh…um.Sure. Hi Kacey.” Annie steps forward to shake her hand but changes her mind at the last second and embraces Kacey in a tentative hug. Kacey is shocked but accepts the hug before turning to join Jeff down the hallway to his office.

He unlocks his office and guides Annie to his desk before reaching behind some books on the shelf to reveal a hidden glass and bottle of scotch. He pours a generous portion into the glass and places it in Annie’s hand. He holds his hand over hers as he catches her looking at the framed newspaper article on his wall. He sees her soft smile and returns it with one of his own.

Kacey clears her throat as she removes the objects from her bag. Annie’s eyes widen in realization as she sees scissors, antiseptic, and sutures.

“Jeff, I can’t…”

“Annie, just…please…drink this. She’ll patch you up good as new.” Annie moves to place the glass of scotch on the desk before Kacey interjects.

“Annie, I don’t have any lidocaine. You’re going to wish you drank that scotch.”

Annie’s fearful expression pans from Jeff to Kacey and then down to the glass of scotch. She reaches down and brings the scotch to her mouth, pausing before downing the entire glass. She cringes, eliciting another grin from Jeff, before taking a seat on his desk. Kacey maneuvers his desk lamp to illuminate Annie’s forehead. The stinging begins as Kacey cleans her skin with the antiseptic.

The first puncture of the suture needle brings a small gasp out of Annie before she gets a handle of the pain. Tears prick the corners of her eyes and she clutches the side of the desk for balance. She soon feels the warmth of Jeff’s hand cover her own as the suturing continues. The scotch hits quickly and she feels dizzy and exhilarated at the same time. Kacey finishes swiftly and expertly.

“So these do not dissolve. You will need to have them removed in a week or so. I can’t promise they won’t get infected, I’m not sure what cut you and how long they’ve been exposed to bacteria.” Kacey packs away her bag as Jeff moves to fill the glass again.

Annie places a hand on his arm and shakes her head at a new glass of scotch. He nods and returns the bottle to its secret hiding place.

“Are you hungry? When’s the last time you’ve had something to eat?” Jeff starts rummaging in his desk drawer and then presents a high-end protein bar to Annie.

She shakes her head no again, but Jeff ignores her as he presses the package into her hand.

“I’m gonna take this back to my car. Jeff, I’ll see you back in the study room.” Kacey nods to her bag and leaves quickly. Annie stands up from the desk, taking several moments to reestablish balance.

“Do you want to see?” Jeff asks as he rummages through the drawer again for a pocket mirror. He hands it to Annie and she admires Kacey’s work.

“Wow. She’s good.” The wound edges are well-approximated and the dried blood on her face has been cleaned.

Jeff lifts Annie’s chin in his hand as he surveys the sutures. His gaze lowers to her eyes to see Annie blinking away her tears.

“Hey,” he whispers.

“Look, Jeff. I know this all sounds crazy. I’m not sure how much you believe, but I need you to listen to me now. Things are not good. Hickey is working on a plan to help us out. When things start moving, they will move quickly. When the public finds out, it will be a disaster. I think you should call Doreen and ask her to head north, too. Whatever Hickey arranges, I want you to know that you, Doreen, and Kacey should come too. You are my family and they are your family.”

“Annie, I believe you. Whatever you need…”

"Annie! There you are! Please come diffuse a situation,” Britta pleads.

Jeff and Annie follow behind her to the study room to see that Troy’s chair has been overturned and is currently being used as a shield by Troy to ward off Chang. Abed is still in conversation with Shirley as Frankie seeks to console a sobbing dean.

Annie jumps into action by distracting Troy with the opportunity to hold a completely unloaded and safety-locked MP5. He immediately forgets about his chair to follow her over to the couch. She thinks about the concept of family and what it really means, that family isn’t always who you choose but who you choose to love. She throws an exasperated smile at Jeff as she supervises a successfully distracted Troy. She is exhausted thinking about all the planning that still needs to be done to prepare for the end of the world, but is momentarily warmed by the thought that she will not be alone.


	12. The Escape

**Spring 2017**

**Greendale, Colorado**

Jeff is cleaning up from dinner when he hears his phone ringing from behind him on the kitchen counter. He wipes his hands on a towel and turns to answer it. He smiles when he sees the caller ID.

“Hey Abed.”

“Hey Jeff.”

“What’s up?”

Abed launches into a quick-paced summary of how things are going in California. They talk relatively often via text, email, and movie quotes, so most of Abed’s update is already known to Jeff. He hears Abed winding down and realizes that he probably called with a purpose and is trying out this “friendly conversation” trope to ease into some type of request. 

“Hey buddy. What’s really up?”

“You changed your Netflix password.”

“Yep.”

“Well. What is it?”

“Are you serious? Are you ever going to get your own account? I’m pretty sure you make more money than I do.”

“There’s a new original coming out about lady wrestlers in the eighties and I really need to see it. _Lady wrestlers_ , Jeff.”

“Oh I’m well aware. Trust me.”

“Well anyway, the release date is soon. So…” Abed waits.

“Hold on. I changed my password a long time ago, so whose account have you been using up until now?”

Abed hesitates to answer, knowing the ol’ can-o-worms he may be about to open, but decides that Jeff is evolved enough at this point to handle the truth.

“Annie is canceling her account, and I was using hers, so…”

“Why is she canceling her account?”

“Oh, um. Well, she’s moving in with Caleb and will be using his instead.”

Jeff knows about Caleb. The whole group does. Some DC cop that Annie met at a crime scene. _How romantic_ , Jeff thinks. He didn’t know they had advanced to the level of moving in. Annie and Caleb had been semi-serious for the better part of the year, and DC is expensive, so surely it’s just an economical move. Annie is nothing if not sensible. Really, Jeff is happy for her. Also incredibly jealous and highly suspicious of Caleb. When Hickey had found out that Annie was carousing with and mooning over a cop, he sent multiple texts to Jeff with no shortage of four-letter words. He seemed to be imploring Jeff to get involved and send the boy in blue packing. But Jeff is _evolved_ now. A major goal in his life is to make sure Annie is happy, and if this questionable cop is making her so, then he will do his best to stay out of their way.

Jeff is busy silently self-congratulating on his martyrdom when he hears Abed clear his throat. Jeff makes a decision then to be gracious as well. He’s evolved and mature, after all.

“The password’s ANNIESB00BS. Zeroes instead of O’s.”

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”

_Annie breaks up with Caleb before the point of no return in the moving process. When asked why, she always responds, “He’s a perfect man, but not perfect for me.” Jeff let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he heard the news._

*******

**Late April, 2020**

Annie was right. When things started moving they started moving quickly. It only took a week or so for more sightings to occur and for the public to catch on to the fact that mountain lions and bears are not capable of the type of carnage being reported in the news. The cities were hardest hit, not necessarily by the creatures, but by the human-generated panic. Stores were over-run by people trying to protect themselves with milk, bread, and oddly enough, toilet paper. Then the looting began, followed shortly after by chaos, violence, and the true horrors of human nature. Those _things_ began to move into the basements of buildings and parking decks where sunlight never reaches. Bright light, especially UV light, seems to temporarily blind them, and when left struggling in the direct sun, these things dry out and die quickly. Despite such a vulnerability, the sheer numbers and erratic attack methods were keeping the humans at bay.

Jeff had heeded Annie’s advice and sent his mom to Michigan’s upper peninsula to stay with distant relatives until this whole thing “blew over.” In fact, everyone started reaching out quickly to family that would listen. Some were still in denial that something so absurd and unbelievable was now plaguing the country. The colder states were faring better, with experts eventually figuring out that the frozen ground in some spots prevented the arrival (or perhaps hatching?) of these creatures.

Annie had reached out to Anthony, advising him to head to a colder and safer spot. To her relief, he had acknowledged her advice and told her that he would follow it. With a burst of hope for others, Annie had called both her mother and her father, leaving voicemails with the same advice. Neither ever called back.

Hickey, who had developed a penchant for tombstone engraving when he left Greendale, was now situated in a remote area of Montana on a generous tract of land. It turns out that aside from testing rations for an underground bunker, he had also built a compound of sorts on this land. He once told Annie it was to provide a safe barrier away from the outside world. She joked that maybe it was really to protect the outside world from him.

A plan quickly took form to evacuate the large and loosely-defined study group to Montana to stay at this compound. Elroy had already landed in Montana on one of the last organized and successful flights to assist his new friend Hickey in properly wiring the large house for solar power and communications. Once satisfied with the initial set-up of the safe haven, Hickey coordinated a meet-up with Annie and the group to help them complete the final leg of their journey up to Montana. With air travel deemed largely unsafe by widespread infestations of the majority of facilities, the national guard was actively trying to evacuate as many people north by means of buses.

It is at one of these rendezvous points that the group arrives with minimal baggage and high anxiety as they wait for their bus to board. Several Bureau agents, including Agents Caldwell and Harrison, are there to assist the guardsmen in maintaining order in such a tinderbox. Word had spread that several rendezvous points had devolved into chaotic protests and violence, eventually leading to more deaths than would’ve been saved by the bus.

The passengers have each been granted a numbered ticket to board the bus. Everyone stands shuffling nervously as the driver and guardsmen do a final check of the fuel supply and route. The promise of a second bus has allayed some of the fears of the other citizens who do not yet have tickets. Annie watches as a petite, middle-aged woman with a foot in a cast looks on horrified and ticket-less.

After speaking at length with one of the guardsmen, Agent Harrison steps over to where Annie is standing by herself, giving her a despondent grin.

“Annie, there isn’t another bus coming,” he whispers cooly.

“What? But they said…”

“They lied. To keep the peace.” He steps closer. “When this bus leaves, that’s it. So make sure you get your pretty little self and the rest of your friends on that bus.”

“What about you?”

“Ah, fuck it. We’ve got some good fire power here if those things show up.”

“What about all the people?”

“We’ll get them out on foot, at least for a while. There will probably be another bus in a day or so.”

Agent Harrison is called away by Caldwell and Annie is left staring between the woman with the broken foot and her family standing near the bus. She sees Britta’s hand rested on her abdomen as she speaks softly with Troy, Jeff, and Kacey. Abed is showing Chang, Frankie and Craig a video on his phone. Annie had also been informed earlier that day that Shirley made it safely to Maine with her family. Everyone is safe or about to be whisked away to safety, she realizes. She feels a sense of calm and peace wash over her as she smiles at the group. She turns slowly, approaching the woman with the broken foot, and presses her bus ticket into the woman’s palm. She gives her a soft smile and gentle hand squeeze as the woman looks back with tears and profound gratitude.

Abed has finished whatever video he has been showing and looks up to see Annie turning away from the woman with an indecipherable expression on her face. He sees the ticket now in the woman’s hand. He excuses himself from the group and walks over to Annie.

“Hey Abed.”

“There’s no second bus, is there?”

Annie’s sad smile provides the answer as Abed shifts his bag on his shoulder. Facial expressions are still a relatively new concept for him, but Britta’s soft and off-tune singing to her pregnant belly distracts Annie from the tension on Abed’s face.

“Let me stay instead,” Abed whispers.

Annie’s smile quivers as she blinks away a few tears. She grabs his hand and attempts one of their many unsuccessfully patented handshakes.

“Baby PerryBarnes is going to need a great uncle. And maybe some of the people here need me. Not many of them are armed. I’ve seen how these things move. Maybe I could help.”

“Annie. We need you.” He looks back to the group with his gaze settling on Jeff who has broken off from a hushed conversation with Troy to look across the clearing at them with squinted eyes.

“Troy needs help figuring out this fatherhood thing. And Jeff. He has always needed you. You changed his life. You brought all of us together. Abed, this is the part in the movie when we say goodbye, maybe for the last time. And you’re ruining it.”

“Ooohh I see what you’re doing, Annie. You’re being meta. This really must be the end of the world.”

Annie scoffs and shuffles a foot in the dirt. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”

“In that case, take this.” He begins digging in his pack, knowing that Annie has made her decision. Living with her for years has taught him how resolute and determined the heart of his roommate is. He wants to fight, to drag her on that bus, but he knows that his love and respect for Annie prevents him.

He hands her a large hunting knife and leans forward to wrap his arms around her with tears streaming down his face, crushing her to his thin frame. Jeff starts approaching the pair, but it is at that moment the voice on the loudspeaker calls for final boarding with the false promise of a second bus in tow. Unrest rises from the crowd but the armed guardsmen hold back the horde.

“Get Jeff on that bus _now,_ ” Annie hisses.

Jeff’s pace picks up toward them, but a look sent from Abed to Troy brings the soon-to-be father over to Jeff’s side to swivel him around back toward the bus.

“Time to go,” Abed speaks to the group. Annie follows half-heartedly behind them but slows her pace as she approaches the large vehicle. Jeff looks over his shoulder at her before entering the bus. She nods at the driver. The driver closes the door after the passengers finish boarding.

“Wait, what’s going on?!” Jeff halts the progress of the riders as they try to find their seats, towering over the guard who is bringing up the rear.

“Sir, sit down. We have to go.”

“Annie’s out there. Wait, let her back on!”

“The second bus will get the rest of the citizens. Sir, please sit down now.”

Jeff shoves the guard against the dashboard of the bus as a frantic look surfaces in his eyes. The guard shoves back. Kacey has already taken a seat near the back and silently watches the exchange, frozen in a look of both horror and knowing.

“She’s supposed to be on _this_ bus.”

“Agent Edison gave up her seat. Now please take yours.”

Abed and Troy stand to each grab a shoulder as they try to pull Jeff down into a seat. His giant frame easily brushes them off as he advances on the guard again. Loud screams from outside pierce the bus interior as everyone’s attention is drawn away from the scene at the front. The ground outside begins to tremor. Jeff looks through the window to see the concerned look on Annie’s face as she backs away from the bus and draws her MP5. The ground near the bus begins to fall away as those things start to climb out of what turns out to be some type of sand trap. Jeff yells for Annie and attempts to move past the guard to the outside chaos, but the guard brandishes his rifle and and brings it down across Jeff’s brow. Everything falls into darkness.

_What Jeff doesn’t see is the mayhem fading into the distance as the bus tears down the road. He doesn’t see the few lucky shots Annie gets off into three of the creatures, nor does he see the dark, gaping hole that has opened up from the earth as those creatures pour out and into the surrounding forests._

_What he also doesn’t see is that Annie makes it out alive, fleeing on foot into the darkness with the dozens of people she has saved._

*******

**Later…**

Jeff wakes to the worst headache of his life with his cheek pressed against the cool glass of the bus window. Kacey is sitting beside him in silence, studying the patterns of the seat in front of her. He groans as he rights himself in the seat and takes in the surroundings of this bus filled with strangers. He sees Britta’s arms wrapped around her abdomen and her tear-stained cheek resting on Troy’s shoulder. Troy and Abed exchange low-volume mumblings as the bus rambles along. The sudden image of Annie’s fear-stricken face surfaces in Jeff’s mind, causing him to stand abruptly in a wave of nausea, disturbing the otherwise silent atmosphere.

He reaches his shaking hand to his right temple and finds dried blood caked in his hair.

“Jeff, please sit down!” Kacey hisses as she tugs the tail of his shirt.

He sits, more so from another wave of nausea than in compliance with her request. He scrubs his hands down his face and looks at her with questioning eyes.

“You’ve been out for about three hours. Probably from a concussion…well…most definitely a concussion. And probably from the Valium I gave you. You need to take it easy.”

“You _drugged_ me?”

Everything is fuzzy and the rocking of the bus along the road only adds to his nausea and confusion. He drops his head into his hands to clear the fog. He lifts his gaze to Britta who has looked up at him. Her grief-stricken face hopelessly pleas for his cooperation.

“Where are we?”

“About forty minutes outside of Gillette.”

“When do we get off?”

Abed stands at this moment and cautiously passes to the front of the bus, kneeling down beside the armed agent. He mumbles something to the agent and nods are exchanged. A few minutes later, the bus comes to a halt and the lights overhead come on. Abed gently taps the shoulders of the group to stand and disembark from the bus. Kacey pauses in the doorway, holding onto the safety rail with feet planted on the last step. Jeff pauses to look back over his shoulder as he re-situates his pack. He does a double-take when he realizes she is not moving.

“Kacey?”

She waves him closer to her, out of earshot of their travel companions.

“Jeff. I think…I think I should go with them.” She nods behind her to the occupants of the bus.

His brow furrows and a frown creases his face.

“You’re a great guy, Jeff. I hope you know that. I’m glad I met you…but if I’m being honest, I am finding out that I never really _had_ you.”

“Kacey. What are you talking about?”

She scoffs, rolls her eyes, and gives him a sad grin.

“Jeff, we are at the world’s end. And you have to ask yourself if I’m really the one you would want to spend it with. I saw something today I don’t think I’ve seen in a long time, if ever. What it was…it’s really difficult for me to even quantify but what I saw-was maybe what they call love…or maybe it’s what they call sacrifice. You and me, sooner or later, wouldn’t have worked out. The thing is, Jeff, I’m not that upset and I don’t think you are either. Isn’t that funny? No, of course not.”

“Kacey, just come with us and we will work this out later.”

“My mom lives in Gillette you know. It’s colder there and maybe it’s safer than Colorado? I don’t know. The point I’m trying to make is that my place…it’s not with you. And your place is not with me. It never was.”

The guard shuffles behind her impatiently as Jeff steps forward and grabs her hand. He doesn’t pull her down off the steps but instead gives it a squeeze.

“You’re different with her, you know. Every time you two were together I could see it. Sure, I pushed it away, but I could always _see_ it. You’re a fool, Jeff Winger. A handsome fool, but a fool nonetheless.”

“Ma’am, we have to go.” The guard offers his hand to her, she takes it, letting go of Jeff’s as the bus doors shut.

She says nothing else as the bus engine starts and it pulls away.

Hickey’s truck is waiting for the group in a clearing to help them complete the final leg to the compound. They board with half of them sitting in the back, protected by the camper shell. With very little sunlight left, Hickey puts the truck in drive and they leave.


	13. The Arrival

**April 2020**

**Somewhere in Wyoming**

Jeff sits in the front seat of the truck with Hickey as they flee the madness behind them. Britta refused to sit in the cab of the truck and is in the covered truck bed with Chang, the dean, and Troy. Frankie sits on the backseat with Abed. Nobody is speaking. Jeff hears Frankie occasionally sniffle behind him. It periodically drowns out the overt sobbing from Britta in the truck bed. 

There is no conversation, no questions. Hickey strategically takes roads away from the forest and keeps his headlights on high beam the entire time. Jeff slips in and out of consciousness as the Valium lingers in his system. He thinks that he is screaming at Hickey to stop the truck and turn around to go find Annie. It is all a bad dream and he is certain he will wake up soon, maybe at his desk in Greendale with an empty bottle of scotch.

The cool night air of April hits his face as the passenger door opens. Jeff realizes the truck has come to a stop in front of a large house. Hickey quietly ushers the group with their scant belongings inside the house. Elroy is seated at a table in the largest room of the house with a single candle burning in the middle. He greets everyone with a somber head nod and handshake.

Hickey gives Jeff a look and guides him into a smaller room, closing the door behind them. He steps up close to Jeff so that he doesn’t have to raise his voice.

“I’m using context clues here. The crying, the silence…you…” He takes another step closer and Jeff sees a heavy mix of grief and anger flash across his face. “Annie…she is a _daughter_ to me…”

Jeff inhales a choked sob and grits his teeth, saying nothing. He feels like he is going tobe sick.

“I don’t know if I want the details. About what happened. You _lost_ her,” Hickey growls.

“Buzz, I…” Jeff drops his face into his hands and trails off.

“She did _everything_ to get you here.” Hickey’s volume increases, resulting in the door to the room opening, revealing the group standing at the ready.

“Buzz, it was her choice to stay behind to help,” Abed interrupts.

“And you let her?!” Hickey pushes Jeff a few inches back, directing his anger towards the man in front of him instead.

“I did,” Abed adds. “She wouldn’t let any of us stop her. This is Annie we’re talking about.”

Jeff turns to Abed with wild eyes. “ _You_ knew she was staying?!”

Jeff advances toward him, seething. Troy steps forward, leaving Britta’s side, ready to intervene.

“How could you let her do that?”

“She is our hero in this timeline. You are underestimating her skills and ability. If there’s anybody that will survive this, it’s Annie.”

Jeff takes the final step towards Abed, grasping his collar in his hands and jerking him forward. Troy reaches forward to pull Jeff away, but Abed keeps him at bay with one steady hand raised. Jeff opens his mouth to speak but is blindsided by an angry Britta who knocks into his side, ultimately throwing him into a group of chairs. She doesn’t stop there. She continues to advance on Jeff as he quickly recalls in his mind all of Troy’s reports about the recent emergence of her “pregnancy strength.” 

“Y-you _asshole_. You are unbelievable. This is _your_ fault.” She pulls Jeff to his feet by his shirt, jerking his face down to her eye level. “She would never have stayed behind if it weren’t for you. All she’s ever known is rejection from _you,_ ” Britta finishes as she brings a swift hand across his face.

Jeff’s face is stinging now, both from the slap of a pregnant Britta and from the realization that he may never see Annie again. Choked sobs emit from everyone as the group dissolves into chaotic sadness. Troy crushes Britta against him as Chang and Frankie whimper in unison. Craig and Elroy take seats back at the table in silence. Abed looks around at the devastation and clears his throat.

“She’s alive.”

Abed lifts up his GPS tracker that has remained active since 2014. He clicks on the tiny heart symbol on the bottom banner, choosing the profile named A. Edison. The heart rate reads at 94 beats per minute. The rate is steady and her blinking dot remains fixed.

***

**Meanwhile…**

Annie is hundreds of miles away, perched in a tall tree, breathing steadily as she fights to gain control of her senses. It is dark all around and she is almost certain that she is alone in these woods.

Those things had swarmed so quickly from below, ending the lives of many of the civilians around her almost effortlessly. She still sees their panicked faces when she closes her eyes, so she decides to stay awake and keep her eyes open. The guardsmen and agents were able to evacuate the majority of the civilians back into the smaller, private vehicles still remaining. She herself had come within inches of climbing into the passenger’s seat of one of these vehicles before one of those _things_ bombarded the car door and her along with it. The metal of the door provided temporary shielding from its long talons, buying her enough time to drive Abed’s hunting knife successfully through its abdomen. She is the only living person to remain behind in those woods.

She shakily digs her cellphone out of her pocket to fire off a text message to _anyone_ , but finds that there is absolutely no signal where she is. She pockets it for later. She had been wise enough to have a printed map of the route to Hickey’s farm. She checks the pocket where it sits safely, takes a deep breath, and prepares herself to wait out the night.

***

**December 19th, 2011**

**The Red Door**

**Greendale, Colorado**

Annie is finishing her third screwdriver of the night and feels _great_. Her Greendale family has gathered around her talking loudly about winter break plans and the impending snowstorm. She is both excited and slightly terrified about the implications of being snowed in with Troy and Abed for days on end. She looks up to see Jeff smiling broadly at her.

“Annie. Earth to Anniiiieee…” Shirley chirps. She then slurps loudly from her virgin eggnog.

“Oh um, sorry. What was that?”

“Shirley asked you about your revelations as a new twenty-one year old?”

“Hmmmm,” Annie taps her chin while contemplating the extremely long list of new information she has uncovered over the past few days, one of them involving the knowledge of Jeff’s weakness for Santa outfits on her. “Well…I think that…screwdrivers are delicious!”

Jeff chuckles and shakes his head as he lifts a hand up to beckon the waitress to order her another drink. He decides on an unseasonable Bramble, knowing that the slight sweetness and color will delight her despite its warm weather appeal. She smiles back at him after her first sip and hums happily. He seems satisfied with himself and re-engages in the argument brewing between Abed and Britta about the true definition of toboggan.

The night stretches into the early morning hours and the group disbands after a mixture of hugs, season’s greetings, and the beginning snowflakes of the incoming storm. Jeff, in all of his selflessness and honor, serves as designated driver for the trip home. His Lexus, filled with Abed, Annie, and Troy pulls into the parking lot of their apartment. Abed and Troy immediately sprint off and upstairs for a Special Drink nightcap as Jeff accompanies Annie to the door.

“I had a great time tonight. Thanks for organizing it.”

“Oh yeah, no problem. I figured I owe you after Troy’s twenty-first birthday.”

Annie quietly nods while shuffling her feet against the ground, shaking the few errant flakes from her shoes. She is struck by a sudden urge and stands on her tiptoes, placing a kiss against Jeff’s scruffy cheek. As she pulls back she feels his hand move to her elbow, keeping her in place. Jeff places a reciprocal kiss agains her cheek and lets a slow breath out against her ear. Annie nuzzles against his cheek before he pulls away. His aloof demeanor returns as he shoves his hands in his coat pockets and bids her goodnight. The snow begins falling heavier now as Annie turns to head inside.


	14. The Flashbacks

**Evening after wrap of _Chief Starr and the Raiders of the Galaxy_**

**Greendale Community College**

Jeff is walking down the hallway back to his office, having discarded wig, eyebrows, and his dumb Mayor sash in the trash, when he hears faint grunts, gasps, and squeaks coming from one of the storage closets that had been turned into a makeshift dressing room during filming. He halts quietly in front of the partially open door to see a very distraught Annie desperately trying to remove that tacky, yet _amazing_ aluminum foil bra. He would be content to stand and watch her progress, but he recognizes an Annie, _his Annie_ , in crisis and decides to swoop in as hero. He looks down to double-check that yes, his shirt is still very much open and his abs are very much still on display.

Annie is both startled and surprisingly relieved by his entrance. She has been trying for about ten minutes to undo the straps and free herself of this part of her costume.

“Need some help?”

She exhales raggedly and nods in defeat. Jeff comes around to her shoulder to work on one of the straps when he realizes that the bodice of the bra has been secured too tightly around her chest.

“This is a real piece of work, you know that?”

“Don’t remind me. Britta hated it. She refused to help me out of this.”

“Well Britta doesn’t know true art when she sees it. Got any more laser bombs in there?”

She rolls her eyes. While he greatly appreciates whoever helped Annie into this masterpiece, he is also frustrated with the chastity belt levels of security they installed on this bra. He gives it a small tug, jolting Annie forward to him as their chests bump together.

She is now blushing furiously and starting to breathe faster, but the aluminum foil is very unforgiving and restrictive. Her breathing picks up as she teeters on the brink of hyperventilation, and she looks up to Jeff with panicked eyes.

“Easy there Scorpio 9, it’ll be okay,” he soothes.

Jeff steps back briefly to reveal a small but sharp pocket knife from his belt.

“Jesus, do you always carry that around?” Annie scoffs.

“That sounds a bit like judgement coming from someone who needs my help.”

Annie tries to inhale fully again but is quickly reminded of her current predicament. She rolls her eyes and stays quiet, staring forward at his exposed chest.

“Ready? Hold still.”

She nods as he brings the blade up by her sternum and carefully begins to cut through the combination of leather straps and foil. Her breaths are still coming out quickly and Jeff is temporarily distracted by the rise and fall of her breasts. The blade successfully cuts through the front of the bra and Annie is freed from almost certain asphyxiation. Jeff is still staring down at her breasts with his white knuckles gripped tightly on the bodice.

Annie clears her throat and slowly lifts her eyes from his chest.

He steps back, releasing her and pocketing the blade. He turns to exit the room quickly and without any ceremony, but he pauses at the smirk he can hear in Annie’s voice.

“Thank you, _Mayor_.”

“Hero is fine.”

She shakes her head while smiling and Jeff exits the room, making it down the hallway in record time to his office. He closes the door and leans up against it while trying to think of _anything_ except Annie in that costume.

Later that evening, after everyone is gone and the halls are free of Glip Glop, Jeff stops by the closet again, happy to find the foil bra discarded on the floor.

He takes it home. For safe keeping of course. He’s a hero like that.

***********

**November 25th, 2019**

**Greendale Community College**

Jeff is still getting used to doing his actual teaching job at Sturm, so he stays late most evenings to catch up on work, except on nights when he teaches class at Greendale. It’s one of those nights when he is leaving Greendale exhausted from a full day of teaching on both campuses when he bumps into a leggy redhead exiting one of the buildings. His conversations with both Annie and then later Britta are still fresh on his mind. His brooding over the last week has resulted in a higher daily consumption of scotch and self-loathing. He looks up to see the owner of such long legs and finds before him an attractive and age-appropriate woman looking back.

She smiles an apology but remains standing before him on the sidewalk.

“Sorry, I guess I should look where I’m going,” she says.

“Oh don’t worry. Sometimes it’s best to keep your eyes closed at Greendale.”

She laughs delicately and shifts from one foot to the other. Jeff steps aside to continue his journey to his car when she decides to continue.

“I don’t know how it’s possible for a pottery class to run so late.”

Jeff is startled, both by her continuation of the conversation and the fact that there is actually a pottery class at night now at Greendale.

“That sounds about as painful as it probably is,” he adds.

“You must be a professor here. You’re actually wearing pants.”

Jeff grins at her assumption, nodding in acknowledgment.

“I’m kinda new here to Greendale. Thought I’d take a community college class to assimilate.”

“Well take it from me, it starts with one class. And then Greendale sucks you into its timeless void of overcooked chicken tenders and asbestos.”

“That sounds…tragic,” she says.

Jeff actually grins fondly as he thinks about his assimilation into Greendale almost ten years ago. There is nothing tragic about it.

“Where’s a good place to get a drink around here?” she asks.

Jeff is now fully aware that this leggy redhead is trying to pick him up. He is flattered. It’s been longer than he cares to admit since he’s entertained a lady caller, and he has to admit that the professor look does him plenty of favors. It’s all rather harmless, he thinks, to grab a drink with a stranger in order to forget the current state of things. It’s just a drink, after all. He can postpone the thoughts swarming his brain, the fear of disappointing others, and the general anxiety surrounding the potential return of the love of his life.

“Yelp tells me that The Vatican is a good choice,” she offers, looking down at her phone.

“Oh um, it’s Trivia Night…gets pretty loud there.”

“Oh god, I hate trivia.” 

Jeff is taken aback by that admission, thinking about a certain tiny brunette who would be at the front table during any trivia night, poised to pounce on the next question with a gleam in her eye and an arsenal of general knowledge spanning decades before she was born. Fierce competitor, sore loser. Wonderful in every way.

“L Street is a few blocks away,” he says, distracted by his thoughts.

“Would you like to show me L Street, professor?”

Minutes later he meets her at the bar and they fall easily into light conversation. Turns out she’s a surgeon who is good with her hands but apparently not when it comes to pottery. Jeff feels vindicated by this and admits that pottery is not one of his strengths either. There are no questions that dig deeper into who they actually are as people and it is effortless for Jeff to spend time with this woman. She seems as non-passionately into it as he is and the night later leads to more nights, meaningless conversations, and the easiest relationship he’s ever been a part of.

Maybe this is all there is for him, he thinks. Maybe this is what he is meant to do and Annie should stay far, far away from him if she wants the passion, fire, and adventure that tends to ignite between them.

It’s all rather safe, mostly boring, and Jeff sees it as the best way to protect Annie from inevitable disappointment.


	15. The Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Jeff try to reach one another.

**Colorado Wilderness, Near Bus Rendezvous Site**

**Late April, 2020**

Annie jolts awake, clinging tightly to a tree branch. The adrenaline left her at some point last night while she was trying to fire off a text to any number of people to let them know she is alive and in need of help. The poor signal in the wilderness prevented any form of communication from successfully leaving her phone. Her eyes widen as she fully realizes that the phone is no longer in her hand. She looks around frantically with the help of the morning sun stretching through the branches. When she finally succumbs to the reality that the phone is no longer on her person, she slowly looks down through the tree limbs to see the shattered screen of her once functional phone lying on a pile of rocks. She feels sick.

She makes up her mind to soldier on and find the nearest civilization to find a phone and hopefully a shower. She digs around in her pack and emerges victorious with the protein bar she had pocketed from Jeff in his office. It turns out that life on the trail is not as glamorous as all of those scruffy-necked, hipster backpackers make it seem to be. Annie shifts her pack in the Colorado sun and continues putting one foot in front of the other.

The stores on the street she is on are all empty. Broken windows, raided cash registers, dead bodies…strewn across the street. After finding a nearly evacuated gas station save for one trembling store clerk hid behind the counter, Annie is able to get a call out to headquarters for a swift evacuation. She will begin her journey to the new pick-up point after she makes a call to the group that she is okay. She begins dialing Abed’s number by heart when she turns to come face to face with the barrel of a gun. The trembling store clerk is no longer trembling and is in fact very much the same person behind the gun. His fear-stricken face is replaced by one of menace and unpredictability.

“Give me your gun.”

“No.”

He grabs Annie by her neck and digs his fingers into her soft flesh. He presses the gun against her temple.

“That’s not up for debate.”

Annie shrugs the MP5 strap off of her arm and the man grabs it quickly, releasing his grip around her neck and slinging the weapon around his shoulder.

“And your pack.”

“Go to hell.”

He knees her in the gut then, effectively causing Annie to fall to the ground. He wrenches the pack off of her and backs quickly out of the store. After inhaling several steadying breaths, Annie stands and runs to the entrance. The clerk is no where in sight. She begins to hyperventilate with anger, reaching down to her belt to realize Abed’s hunting knife is still secured to her. She briefly entertains the notion of chasing down that asshole and giving him something real to tremble about, but the sunlight is fading fast and she still has several miles to go for pick up.

She makes it to the spot with the use of a map and compass she procured from the gas station. The pick-up point is in the lot of an abandoned cinderblock building. She had followed the street signs to the letter and is sure this is the spot. No car is in sight. As she approaches the side of the building, she sees the slumped-over body of a special agent witha spray of bullet wounds across his body. She looks down to see the tire tracks of a vehicle that has peeled out of the lot recently. That _fucking_ store clerk, she thinks. 

Annie collapses to her knees as tears stream down her face. How could she have been so stupid? How could one innocent trip into town result in the theft of most of her valuables and the loss of a life? She pauses as she hears the footsteps of more people. The sun is almost down, the shadows are long, and she is torn between remaining on the open road with other humans and straying into the forest with those _things_.

She chooses the forest.

***

Trips into town after that are brief, purpose-driven, and as infrequent as Annie can manage while on the trail. She begins to quickly accumulate needed items over the first few days. During one of these trips she stops in front of the window of a car, catching her reflection for the first time in days. She spends only a few seconds mourning her tired, dirty appearance before remembering the stitches above her brow.

Anne opens the door to the car and hunches forward in the driver’s seat to prod the stitches precariously in front of the visor mirror. She takes a deep breath, brings the knife to her brow, and she slices each tiny stitch with the tip of the blade. She winces as she pulls each suture out, now taut in the healed skin. No damage is done. While briefly admiring Kacey’s handiwork, her thoughts stray to both her fate and the fate of the group. She tries not to think much about the bad that could’ve happened. She is nothing if not optimistic, right? Later that day she finds a new pack that she stuffs with the vital supplies she has accumulated during her trips. It is on that day that she begins to stitch tiny knots into the straps for each day that passes.

*******

**May, 2020**

**Somewhere in the Colorado wilderness**

After the incident in the shelter with those men and those _things_ and all of the screaming, Annie begins to strictly avoid any human establishments. They are becoming fewer and more spread apart anyway as she progresses north. By her calculations and inherent cartography skills (they align quite well with her trivia skills), she is nearing the Colorado/Wyoming border. As soon as she crosses over she will find a tree for the night to get extra rest. She plans to pick up her mileage starting tomorrow.

Since escaping the shelter Annie has not been able to shake the feeling that someone or some _thing_ has been following her. She takes a zigzag path to try to evade whoever or whatever it is. She frequently pauses in her tracks to listen closely for the footfall of anything else. Each time is unsuccessful and she begins to consider this particular intuition to be silly and unsubstantiated. She climbs the most habitable tree and battens down for the night. As she sits comfortably and silently listening to the night-sounds that envelop her, Annie swears that she hears someone clear their throat.

*******

**Hickey’s Compound**

**April 2020**

The group was successful in forcing Jeff into a room with a bed and a bottle of water for him to sleep off the Valium, concussion be damned. Their efforts are in vain as he lies in the middle of the small bed staring at the ceiling above. His heart is pounding and his brain is racing. He is currently calculating the distance that they are away from Annie as he stares down at her blinking dot on the screen of Abed’s tracker.

He can hear the others shifting throughout the house, settling and talking quietly. He is so enraged that everyone seems to have accepted that their friend has been left behind. After seeing those _things_ invading the bus rendezvous point, Jeff fully accepts that the world will never be the same after this. He has called Annie’s cell countless times already. His myriad of texts never make it to their destination.

_Annie, let me know that you are okay._

**Not Delivered**

_We made it to Hickey’s compound._

**Not Delivered**

_Please hang on, we are coming to get you._

**Not Delivered**

_I am so sorry for everything._

**Not Delivered**

He vacillates between crying quietly into his pillow and punching it. The morning sun is starting to peak through the curtains, and he steps to the window to see a fleet of vehicles down by a large barn. The house they are in is huge, like a modern-day farm house with multiple rooms and a large wraparound porch. He eyes a Jeep Wrangler down by the barn. A month ago he would be salivating over the heated leather seats and sound system, but now he is more concerned with ground clearance and trail rating. He is also concerned with where he can find the keys.

He creeps out of his room, which is difficult for a 6’4’’ man with a head injury, and steps into what he decides is the foyer of the house. A small dresser stands beside the entry door. Jeff pulls out the drawers silently, searching for keys. A shuffle of feet and muted cough startle him as he looks up to see a red-eyed Hickey.

“Buzz.”

“Looking for these?” He dangles an array of keys from his hand.

Jeff grits his teeth and nods cooly at the older man. “I have to help her. She’s still out there.”

“I know.”

“Then why is everyone acting like it’s some type of thing we can put off until later?”

“We’re not.”

Hickey nods into the adjoining room where Jeff glimpses a table full of maps with Abed pouring over them. The small TV is running a continuous new stream of what appears to be nightmarish devastation in Denver. Other members of the group are huddled quietly with cups of coffee, arranging packs and sharpening knives. Jeff shivers when he catches a deadly glare from Britta as she sharpens a rather large blade.

“Buzz, I can’t sit here and wait. Every minute matters right now. I have to go find her. _Now._ ”

Hickey lets out a ragged sigh, exiting the foyer and out of sight. He returns moments later with his arms full. He tosses a heavy backpack against Jeff’s chest. As Jeff begins to comprehend what is happening, Hickey hands him a very sharp hatchet and a small pistol.

“Don’t use this gun unless you absolutely have to. It’s basically like ringing the dinner bell for them. Don’t be stupid. Move in the light. Stay in the light. They move at night.”

Jeff realizes that Hickey is going against his better judgement and sending him after Annie. His heart begins pounding again with renewed hope.

“Don’t scratch it,” Hickey huffs as he slaps the Jeep keys into Jeff’s hands.

Jeff nods and acknowledges Hickey’s gifts with such profound appreciation. Hickey slaps both hands down on Jeff’s shoulders, giving him a sad smile.

“Bring her back. _Please_.”

“I will.”

As Jeff turns to leave the house he catches Abed’s eye from the other room. It takes no time for Abed to figure out what is going on. He nods solemnly in acknowledgement and returns his attention back to the maps.

*******

The Wrangler takes off in the mid-morning sun, hitting the roads that will get Jeff to Annie the fastest. He rummages through Hickey’s pack to find an assortment of useful items including flares, water, and that weird bean paste that Hickey once ate at the study room table as part of his food ration taste test.

It’s about six-hundred miles back to the rendezvous site. Back to Annie. Her position on the tracker has begun to move slowly north, and Jeff sees promise in the blinking dot. He may need to stay overnight somewhere, but he will make it to her if it kills him. Hickey had secured an additional container of gasoline in the back of the Jeep. The hard-top of the vehicle provides the promise of protection from both the elements and hopefully those creatures.

#jeeplife

The road passes behind him quickly. He is grateful that there is not much traffic heading south. Cars speed past him as they head up north. He sees the faces of the drivers and passengers masked in horror and grief. He understands. He is occupied the entire car ride by Annie’s face and voice. He feels the ghost of her touch on his right arm and turns to the passenger seat to see that it is empty. The Jeep accelerates.

***

He stops to refuel at a gas station, preferring to keep the additional gasoline that Hickey provided in case of emergency. The sun is setting. He intends to make it several more miles down the road before stopping. Surely the paved roads are safe. About a half-hour later he is driving down a stretch of road that is flanked on both sides by forest. He keeps driving.

He begins to see shadows running alongside the Jeep, but decides that it is just exhaustion playing tricks on his mind. The fifth time he decides it is no coincidence, but before he can pull the vehicle over for a rest, a large mass rams against the driver side of the Jeep. He momentarily blacks out as the Jeep flips over twice before landing upright at the edge of the forest. A loud shriek deafens him and he begins to frantically search out the windows for the origin of the sound. He grabs the gun.

More shadows pass swiftly in front of the headlights of the Jeep. Jeff holds still and grips the gun tighter. A moment of clarity breaks through and he releases the gun, reaching for the blade instead. Silence descends upon the vehicle and his deep breaths seem louder than any gun shot. Moments pass and Jeff begins to think that the creatures have left. The last of the sunlight is gone.

Jeff shifts uncomfortably in his seat, racking his brain for the next strategic move. Before he can settle on the next best choice, two talons pierce the hardtop of the Jeep and rip it from the body of the vehicle. He rocks with the body of the Jeep as it is almost turned on its side again. He watches helplessly as the container of gasoline teeters precariously before falling out of the Jeep altogether. The talon of another one of the creatures rips through this container, and the air is filled with the pungent odor of gasoline. Objects from inside the Jeep go flying out as the vehicle is rocked some more.

The roll bar of the Jeep shields Jeff from the sweeping talons of those things as he quickly digs through the pack. He produces the flare, rips off the cap, and strikes it to ignite it. He feels a sharp, cold prick in his side as he throws the flare on the ground by the gasoline. The roar of fire temporarily drowns out the shrieks of the creatures. He sees with more light and clarity the anatomy of those things. Long, sharp features with dark, cold eyes. He floors the accelerator and speeds back onto the paved road. He turns around to see, which is much easier now with the hard-top gone, the creatures writhing around in the flames.

He makes it several miles down the road before the forest clears and a row of houses sit waiting for him. He swerves the Jeep into the carport of a vacated house and decides to wait out the night. He reaches down to the passenger seat to find his phone and the tracker. Both are gone. The multiple flips that the Jeep endured had resulted in the expulsion of several key items out the window. He wants to puke.

Jeff notices then that the sharp, cold prick he felt earlier is starting to become more of a throbbing ache. He peers down to his side to see dark, sticky blood oozing from a puncture wound on the right side of his abdomen.

“Shit.”

He tries to slow his breathing and stop the bleeding. He is mildly successful. He reaches into the pack and produces a roll of bandage. Holding the bandage tightly against him, Jeff begins to nod in and out of consciousness. If he dies, Annie is going to kill him. Those are his last thoughts before the morning.

*******

**The Morning**

Abed and Troy pull a barely conscious Jeff from the Jeep and haul him into Hickey’s truck. Troy then hops in the Jeep to take over and help it make a safe trip back to the compound. Jeff’s hearing fades in and out on the journey back, but he is lucid enough to cry out for Hickey to stop at the attack site which is now nothing more than a few blackened trees against a dense, green forest. Jeff staggers out of the truck and falls to the ground. He crawls on his knees as he searches for the tracker. He eventually comes upon the tiny charred box that was once Abed’s controversial device. Jeff sits hunched over at the burn site before Abed is able to coax him back into the truck. 

The men bring Jeff and the Jeep back to the compound, both very much scratched and in need of repair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will be looking up soon, I promise! These two deserve some happy times!


	16. The Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay!

Jeff remembers being removed from the truck and assisted into the house as the afternoon sun of Montana beats down upon him. He remembers the metallic smell of his own blood as he is helped onto a gurney in a bright, white room. He remembers the clashing of metal instruments, the harsh whispering between Hickey and Britta, and the muted sobs of the Dean in the corner of the room. He feels someone begin to inexpertly meddle at this injured side.

“Chang, what are you doing!?”

“I’m going to fix him right up.”

“How?”

“Oh well, you know. A little bit of this,” Loud metallic clang. “A little bit of that.” Another metallic clang. Jeff grunts in pain.

“No. Absolutely not,” hisses Frankie. “You have zero training and, honestly, you should be the last one on this earth to provide any medical attention to anyone ever. In fact, you are usually the one that needs medical attention.”

“We should take his shirt off first,” chimes in the Dean.

Jeff groans in protest. 

“I got this,” Troy declares as he comes closer to the table. Jeff hears the loud snap of Troy donning surgical gloves.

“Oh, and why is that?” Hickey asks.

“I may have accidentally punctured LeVar with a harpoon when we were off the coast of South Africa.” Jeff can hear the group suck in a collective gasp. “Oh but don’t worry! Just a flesh wound. It was just the tip.” Chang giggles. “We need to clean it out first.”

Unfortunately, the Dean was right and Jeff’s shirt does indeed come off first. He feels the cool rush of fluid washing over his abdomen and pooling under his back. He feels pressure on both sides of the gash as Troy opens it slightly to peer inside.

“Ok. Looks clean enough. And not too deep. Bleeding has stopped. You’re a lucky man,” Troy concludes as he slaps both hands down on Jeff’s shoulder in a congratulatory manner. He moans in response. 

Jeff then feels the gauze packing and bandages wrapped around his abdomen. He begins to open his eyes more fully and finds Abed staring back at him.

“I lost her,” he rasps aloud to Abed and to everyone else in the room. 

***

Hours pass or perhaps days, Jeff is not sure, as he lays on the gurney staring at the white ceiling. With tracker and phone gone, he now feels fully disconnected from everything. He feels as if the last tether to Annie has been severed. He swallows down bile as he thinks about what may have happened to her. He continues to stare at the ceiling, wondering or maybe wishing that he is dying when he hears a commotion outside of the house, the sound of a car motor, and the stomping of feet on the porch. Excited mumblings reach his ears and he fights to sit up to see the cause of the sudden burst of activity. The heavy door to the house flies open and he hears hurried feet approaching the room. He blinks into the brightness of the white room and thinks this is a strange way to meet Saint Peter. He then hears the high-pitch squeals of the Dean and briefly wonders if he is about to receive very bad news about his disposition in the afterlife. 

“Jeff, wake up. Open your eyes,” Britta urges.

“Is that you, Death?”

“Go to hell, Jeff.”

“Britta! Jeffrey? Sugar boots?”

“Okay, that really hurts, Shirley.”

More commotion from upstairs results in the remainder of the group entering the room to find a very real Shirley Bennett and a very much alive Jeff Winger staring at each other.

“Shirley? Wha…how?”

Shirley ignores his ambiguous question and busies herself at his side, poking, prodding, and ultimately removing the bloody bandage from his side. 

“Oh Jeffrey, what happened? Did one of those things do this?”

He grasps her hands, removing them from his side, and peers into her face.

“Shirley…where are your boys?”  
Her smile is somewhat sad but mostly hopeful as she holds his gaze.

“They are safe with Andre in Maine. They have an army of family to keep them safe.”

“You shouldn’t be here. You should be with them.”

“Jeffrey,” she pauses as she turns to address everyone in the room. “You are all my family, too.” Her gaze falls to the gash in Jeff’s side and then to the tear-streaked faces of the Dean and Troy. “Besides, it looks like y’all need my help more.”

Britta snorts but leans into a hug with Shirley as Elroy, Frankie, and Chang converge from the corners of the room to begin a very large group hug. Jeff leans away during the group’s embrace and stares at his hands in his lap. The hug disbands and Shirley steps back to his side, producing a large bag from her side filled with medical supplies. She goes to work at his side, humming during the process of cleaning, mending, and bandaging. Her humming dies away as she looks around the room.

“Where’s Annie?”

***

It’s sometime later that evening. He is in an actual bed now, surrounded by darkness. He feels extremely cold and it must be his chattering teeth and sweat-soaked clothes that wake him from his sleep. The pain in his side is flaring and he feels his grasp on reality loosening. 

He feels a small weight settle at the foot of his bed as dozens of fireflies begin to fill the room with their pulsing light. His chills have left and he feels a warmth surround him. The shadow at the foot of his bed turns towards him, and he sees Annie’s face illuminated by the glow. Her mouth is moving as if she is speaking but no sounds reach his ears. 

“Annie? Annie, I can’t hear you.” Jeff struggles to move in the bed but is held down by an invisible weight.

He reaches out his arm towards her and watches as it leaves a trail of light through the air. Her face remains calm with lips still moving as he struggles to reach her. 

He hears water running, as if a stream is right outside his window. He turns to see the source of the sound. Upon returning his gaze to Annie he sees that her lips have stopped moving and are curled up into a slight, peaceful smile. A sudden rush of whispering reaches his ears.

“I’ll see you soon, Jeff.”

Everything fades to blackness until the morning. He wakes up, staring at the white ceiling above him as Shirley informs him that his fever has finally broke.


	17. The Approaching Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ramp-up.

**Late July 2020**

**Somewhere along the Bighorn River, Montana**

Today is a rest day for Annie. Her elective wilderness survival courses at Quantico taught her to stay vigilant with respite and recuperation when the journey is long. On these days Annie usually finds a nice, deep, and peaceful section of the river to wash what she can, bathe, and dry all of her clothes on a sun-baked rock. She takes this time to clean and re-bandage her feet, sharpen her blade, and nap in the sun.

On this day she is dozing on a large boulder at the edge of the river in nothing but her bra and underwear as her freshly cleaned trail garb dries in the sun. The July sunlight warms and soothes her aching muscles. Her thoughts meander with the river as she considers the next leg of her journey north. She can’t be very far now from Hickey’s, both according to her map and according to the increasing absence of those _things._ Rumors among passing travelers and campsite fires have her convinced that the cold, more rocky earth prevents the elaborate tunneling of the creatures. They are still very much out there, she knows, based both on the large crashing noises in the forest at night and the mangled carcasses of deer she trips over.

Cell service no longer exists across the nation, however. It’s one thing to build a cell tower, it’s an entirely different thing to keep it functional when all the technicians have been eaten or have fled to safety. The vibrations and electric hum from the towers prove to be very attractive to the creatures as they have established hubs near the manmade structures.

The past several days have left Annie feeling on edge, as if something or someone is watching her. She remembers the heart stopping sound of a man coughing in the trees weeks ago. She had attributed it to the statistical probability that _of course_ there are other people out here trying to survive. Right?

The daytime sounds of the forest around her come to an unnatural halt. A few birds scatter to the sky from a nearby shrub. All Annie can hear now is the slow swirl of the river. A panic begins to rise in her chest. She forces herself up from the rock slowly and begins to redress in her still damp clothing and gather her belongings. She forces herself to remain calm and methodical in her packing while quelling the hysteria in her throat. Every instinct in her is telling her to flee, but she continues to slowly reassemble her pack like she does on any other post-apocalyptic afternoon. She is certain now that someone is in the forest with her and that this has been the same someone tailing her for days. This is not statistical probability or coincidence.

She sheaths her knife in its holster on her thigh, leaving it unbuttoned and ready. After hitching her belongings on her back for another haul, Annie takes a slow, steadying breath before hitting the trail again. This time, with an accompanying stranger in tow, she decides to take a meandering path that leads to nowhere in particular. She knows immediately that she must lose this tail in a deliberate and effective manner. No amount of quick stepping and climbing will elude them at this point. She looks up to the sky, seeing distant thunderheads on the horizon, and knows that she will have a chance to escape her follower.

She must wait until night.

*******

**Late July 2020**

**Hickey’s Farm, Montana**

During his rest days, Jeff usually isolates in the small house near the edge of the property. He pores over maps, crossing out sections that have been covered, and plans new routes to hopefully find the one person that continues to elude him. When his frustration peaks and the maps turn into a blurred jumble of lost hope, he exits the small building and throws his hatchet at a makeshift target erected on one of the large spruces. Weeks have passed since he lost the tracker. His side still hurts but is on the mend. He barely notices that his cell phone appendage is missing.

He is out by the edge of the property now repeatedly throwing and retrieving his hatchet after hitting multiple bullseyes. He barely acknowledges Elroy’s approach through the grass as he returns to his throwing spot.

“Jeff.”

Jeff grunts in response as he pulls the hatchet out of the tree. Elroy moves to his side and picks up a smaller hatchet notched in a nearby log. He mulls over the tool in his hand before sending a questioning glance towards Jeff. Jeff gives one small nod before Elroy launches the hatchet at the target. He misses, hitting several feet above the bullseye. Jeff takes several silent strides to the tree, freeing the hatchet, and brings it back to Elroy. He places it at a slightly different angle in Elroy’s hands, lowers his arms, and then steps back to allow another throw.

Elroy throws the hatchet again, hitting slightly closer to the target. The two men repeat this activity silently for the next ten minutes until Elroy finally lands the hatchet in the dead center of the target. He sees a small smile flash across Jeff’s face and sees this as an opportunity.

“We are worried about you.”

The remnant of the smile on Jeff’s face disappears immediately. He moves to pick up his own hatchet again, readying it in his hand for another throw.

“We would really like you to come back to the main house more.”

The loud sound of the hatchet hitting the bullseye echoes across the field.

“We’re going to need all hands on deck when the baby comes.”

Jeff steps away back to the tree, jerking the hatchet out of the target loudly. He remains at the tree, thumbing the blade with his back to Elroy.

“I know you loved her,” Elroy says in a low whisper. “She would want you to be happy.”

Jeff turns and stalks back to his tall friend, looking into his face with fiery eyes.

“Why are you using past tense, Elroy?”

Elroy looks crestfallen, realizing his mistake. He quietly returns the smaller hatchet to the nearby log. He turns back towards Jeff, placing both hands on his broad shoulders. Jeff gives him a nod of forgiveness. Elroy turns to leave back through the grass to the main house. Jeff watches him go.

He turns his face to the sky, seeing the approaching storm on the horizon. He decides that the search will continue tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies again for the delay. Let me know what you think!


	18. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally!

**The Montana Wilderness**

Dark is coming early tonight as the arriving storm clouds dim the final evening rays. Annie goes through the motions under the false pretenses of hunkering down for another night in the trees. Whoever is watching her will surely assume that this is just like any other night.

She doesn’t anchor her pack as tightly around the trunk of the tree as she usually does. She doesn’t loosen her blade’s holster nor does she let her hair down. The distant rumbling is growing louder and she knows that she only has a couple hours before the forest will be filled with the loud booms and chaos of a summer storm. She will make her move then.

She is tired. So tired. She knows that a confrontation is best avoided and that she should put as much distance between her and this stranger. She sits now, bundled up against the tree, chilled from the anticipation rather than the cool Montana night. She fights the exhaustion and tries to bolster her waning adrenaline. 

The thunder grows closer.

***

**FBI Academy Graduation 2018**

**Quantico, Virginia**

Annie takes another drink from her glass of sugary goodness as she turns away from the bar to take in the rest of the room. The crowd is dwindling as her fellow graduates start to call it a night one by one. The majority of the faces in the room belong to those she has known the longest, her family, the ones who flew across the country specifically to see _her._

Her heart is indescribably full. She is drunk more on the thought of this family than on all the free drinks she has received that evening. Britta gives her an exasperated look from across the way as Troy delivers another sermon about Seven & Seven and the importance of following one’s heart. Britta seems appeased when Troy ends his drunken campaign with a sweet and completely unabashed kiss on her cheek.

Annie watches Jeff smile and roll his eyes at the display of affection before he turns his eyes on her. His smile grows wider and his eyes burn with some type of intent that Annie cannot fully decipher. Before she can gain her full composure his long legs have brought him back over to her side. Throughout the evening he is never far away from her. He seemed content to watch from afar at times and even more content to be by her side with his hand near the small of her back. 

He grabs her glass from her hand, taking a sip.

“Hey! Get your own!” Annie squeaks. This seems to encourage Jeff further as he lifts the glass out of her reach again and downs the rest of the concoction.

“That was terrible.”

He seems entirely too proud of what he’s done and Annie grabs his scotch and finishes it off in retaliation. She cringes through the experience but comes out the other side with a smirk and a flourish of her hips. Jeff seems to love it.

“Now that you’re a federal agent you have to start drinking like one,” Jeff chides.

Annie playfully slaps at his chest. He grasps her hand after a few hits and pulls her in closer. She feels his thumb rubbing small circles on the inside of her palm. A blush burns across her chest and face as she looks up at him.

“Jeff…”

“I hope you understand how much I mean it when I say that I am so proud of you.”

Annie nods quietly and brings their hands down to her waist. She grasps his large hand with both of her own, giving it a small squeeze. He steps even closer to her and she lays her forehead against his chest, suddenly out of breath.

*******

**The Montana Wilderness**

Jeff’s usual plan when he embarks on another leg of the search for Annie involves driving as far as the vehicle will take him before reaching the point of no return fuel-wise. He occasionally brings an extra tank if he has it to extend the journey. Abandoned cars and fuel stations provide the means to restock, but gasoline is becoming scarce and what little he is able to find has reached the near end of its combustible life.

He pushes the envelope tonight, extending the journey slightly beyond what he is usually comfortable with before he pulls the vehicle over and continues on foot through the forest. His large hatchet is strapped to his side and an even larger machete strapped across his broad shoulders. He beat out Troy in a game of Roshambo for the latter.

He usually only searches for Annie in the daylight hours. He knows she is smart enough to stay hidden and quiet at night when those things roam the forest floor. Something about the approaching storm and the electricity in the air has spurred him forward to continue the search through the night. His heavy footfall in the forest will be masked by the clamor of the storm. The flashes of light will illuminate plenty throughout his search. He decides to rest momentarily before the storms begin the full lightning show. He sits hunched against a tree, keeping his senses tuned in to any sounds made by living things.

A lightning bug lands on his arm and makes a slow journey to his elbow before lighting up and taking off again.

***

**August 2015**

**Greendale, Colorado**

“I think that just about does it,” Annie chirps as she slams the trunk of her car. The force rocks her sad, cachectic Honda.

“Seems like it,” Jeff mumbles reluctantly from somewhere behind her.

Annie turns slowly, realizing she is eclipsed in Jeff’s shadow on such a hot afternoon. She is grateful for his stature as she doesn’t have to squint when she looks up into his face.

“Are you sure you’re okay to make the drive alone?” Jeff asks. The journey from Colorado to the East Coast will be a long one and he cannot imagine Annie making the trip alone. He also cannot imagine that this may be the last time he gets to say goodbye to her before she begins her new life in DC.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Annie shrugs as tears threaten to spill down her face. “Besides, Abed has so graciously gifted me the entire discography of William Shatner for the ride.”

Jeff scoffs before digging around in his pocket. Annie quirks a curious brow as he presents to her a small cylinder wrapped carefully in butterfly wrapping paper.

“Please don’t ask about the wrapping paper,” he says.

“I won’t,” she grins.

Annie carefully unwraps the small gift before her face breaks into a huge smile.

“You got me pepper spray.”

“Ha, yeah.” Jeff places his hands in his pockets and begins shuffling his feet on the hot pavement.

“You know I’m a Black Belt, right?”

“Yeah, well, I’m hoping it never has to come to that. Plus I’m pretty sure certain events in the past have served to show you how to use the pepper spray properly.”

Annie gasps in protest.

“Plus, I..uh…I can’t protect you out there. And it kills me. And I know you can take care of yourself. You always have. But that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to worry.”

“Jeff…”

“You’re important to me, Annie.”

Annie places her hand on his cheek, holding his face gently until she is able to elicit a soft smile from him.

“You’re important to me, too.”

*******

**The Montana Wilderness**

A flash of white and a loud crash rip Annie from her tenuous slumber on the tree limb. It must be sometime after midnight. She remembers her plan and immediately unstraps her pack from around the trunk. The forest is alive with the pattering of rain and the arrival of the storm. She eases herself down the tree, relying heavily on the lean muscle she has built during her time on the trail.

She lands silently on the soft ground, readjusts her pack, and pockets the worn map that will lead her to Hickey’s farm. She makes quick progressacross the forest floor as she continues heading north. When the thunder pauses momentarily or the rain lets up, she halts her progress to make sure those things do not hear her.

The storm continues on and she is able to make substantial progress over the next two hours. She feels the elevation increasing beneath her feet and begins to feel the first dregs of fatigue catch up to her. She can’t stop now, not when she has the chance to elude this man. There is a lull in the storm and Annie finds the opportunity to rest and gather her senses for an hour or so. She huddles against a large tree and chugs hungrily from her water bottle. Her breathing slows and she listens to the sounds of raindrops dripping down from the trees above.

She feels herself fading back into sleep against the tree and forces herself to stand as the next storm begins rolling in. She bends down to retie the shredded laces of her boots when she hears the distinct sound of footfall on the forest floor behind her. Annie turns around and comes face to face with a ragged man, a man she recognizes from the shelter she stayed at months ago on that terrible night.

“Where are you going in such a hurry, sweetheart,” he growls.

Annie takes several steps back, bumping up against another tree behind her.

“Why are you following me?” She tries to keep her voice low and her hysteria in check.

“What’s on that map you look at every night?” He steps closer.

Annie reaches for her blade but is frozen in place by the click of the safety being removed from the gun in the man’s hand.

“Don’t be stupid. They’ll hear you,” she snarls.

A flash of light and a loud boom rips through the forest. She looks up into the sick grin on the man’s face.

“Not tonight.” He points the gun against her temple, pressing her further against the tree. “Give me the map.”

She considers him momentarily before feigning despair and nervousness.

“Oh…okay…just don’t hurt me please. I’ll do anything you want.”

The man invades her space further but drops the gun to his side. He grasps her shoulder and pins her against the tree.

“I’ll get it for you.” The man slowly reaches to her pocket where the map sits. His guard drops further and Annie finds her opportunity to escape. She brings a swift knee to the man’s groin and a fist up to his face. He shouts and falls back as she breaks loose from his grip.

“You fucking bitch,” he rasps.

Annie takes off up a slope, hoping to break free from the thick undercover where she can lengthen her stride. She’ll need room to fight if it comes to that. She hears the man cursing in the forest behind her and the subsequent sounds of him beginning his pursuit of her. What scares her the most is not this man but the sounds of a much larger creature crashing through the forest behind them both.

***

The storm has arrived in full force and Jeff lumbers to his feet to begin this leg of the search. There are some hiking trails in the area and he takes a leap of faith to assume that maybe Annie is on one of them. When the forest is not being rocked by the loud booms of the storm, the downpour of rain creates a constant roar in his ears. It’s sometime after midnight and he plans to search as long as he can. As long as the storm continues.

Several hours pass as he hikes through the forest, finding the trail and looking for any signs of a recent passerby. The sun rises early here and he will continue his search through the morning as well.

The sounds of a man yelling reach his ears. He pauses to locate the sound and hears the man cursing. Sounds follow of people running through the forest. His stomach drops when he hears the unmistakable sounds of one of those things crashing through the brush in pursuit. Against his better judgment Jeff heads towards the direction of the commotion.

He is running now. The trees are flying past him. The sounds of the pouring rain fills the forest. He attempts to triangulate the sound of the people running to guide his trail but is too distracted by the loud shrieking of one of those creatures. The unholy sound bleeds through the forest and he begins to lose his sense of direction. He lurches across a fallen tree, colliding with the monster in the woods.

What happens next involves mostly luck and some brute strength. The creature is discombobulated from the collision with Jeff but does have the wherewithal to rear back on its haunches and let out another piercing shriek. Jeff thinks, or doesn’t think really, and frees the machete from his back, bringing it down in one fell swoop across the thorax of the creature. It collapses dead against Jeff who manages to crawl out from under the carcass. He reflects briefly on his brush with death before crawling to his feet again to track down the humans in the forest. The sun will be up soon.

***

There is a clearing up ahead. The morning light is making its way through the tree line. The remnants of the storm linger as the rain continues along with a few fragmented rumbles of thunder. If she can just make it to the clearing she will be able to turn and fight more effectively. If she can just make it to the clearing where the rays of sun are invading she will be alright. She can still hear the man pursuing her. She almost prays for another one of those things to make an appearance. Annie is not sure what happened to the original monster crashing towards them and she is not entirely sure which monster she would rather deal with.

But then Annie trips.

She hears the horrible man laugh at her misfortune, but she can tell he is winded from his pursuit of her. She gets up briefly and makes it several more yards into the clearing. She feels blood oozing down her knee, but she is ready to fight. She grabs a large rock, turns, and ambushes the man, smashing the rock across his brow. He drops the gun and she dives for it in the grass. A struggle ensues resulting in the gun being kicked further away from the both of him. He forces his full weight on her and brings a fist down across her face. Although stunned and barely conscious, Annie finds the strength to drive her blade into his side. But he has a blade too and she finds herself struggling against him as he tries to wedge it in her flesh. She loses the struggle as the blade sinks into her left shoulder.

She thinks about death and what dying is like. Abed always wondered if one really does see an entire life flash before them. Annie feels like she now knows the answer and is a bit sad that she won’t be able to tell him. She sees everyone sitting around a large table, smiling at her and waving her over to come sit. She thinks she sees them with her in the clearing now. She thinks she sees Jeff there, too.

Maybe death isn’t so bad.

***

Jeff reaches the clearing in time to see the man sinking a blade into Annie. He unlatches his hatchet as the man pulls the blade out with the intent of plunging it back in. Jeff takes a swift step forward and sends the hatchet flying.

_Bullseye._

The man drops the blade, falling to the side of Annie, his eyes wide open and dead.

***

**Hickey’s Farm**

**Montana**

Bright light and white curtains surround all that she sees when she opens her eyes. A soft, warm breeze passes over her body and the smell of pure, unadulterated sunlight meets her senses. Annie feels weightless. There is no pain, no fear, and no blood in this new place.

“Am I dead…d-did I die?” She says aloud, presumptively to no one.

She is laying on something. She shifts and pain is born, fanning across her torso and down through her legs. She chokes out a sob and gasps for air. She is not dead.

She hears shifting beside her and the rumble of a deep, familiar voice in the bright light.

“Shirley, she’s awake.”

There is more rustling and doors opening and a weight settles beside her as she feels warmth flooding through her veins. Her last conscious thoughts are of the deep voice near her telling her everything is okay.

Annie awakens later. The bright light is gone and her surroundings are still. She opens her eyes to see a bed canopy and a ceiling fan rocking precariously overhead. She is prepared for the pain this time and as it disrupts whatever peace she has found she sucks in a breath and releases it slowly, methodically. One, two, three… _breathe…_

“Annie…” The deep voice is back.

She feels a warm roughness surround her left hand as it is lifted from her side.

“Annie.”

She sees flashes of her last memories of the field and _that man_ and feels the sharp pain of a knife in her shoulder. She chokes back a sob as another wave of pain racks her body. She reaches up to remove the knife but it is already gone from her flesh, replaced by thick bandaging. She still feels as if she is in that field and she tries to sit up quickly to fight. Intense nausea hits her and she clutches her side, doubling in on herself.

“Hey…hey….it’s okay. Annie. You’re okay.”

She feels warm, strong arms surround her and catches the lingering scent of someone she remembers, someone from _before._

“Annie. Open your eyes.”

She complies, coming face-to-face with a familiar pair of slate-blue eyes.

“Jeff?”

“Hey kiddo.”

Her eyes continue to search his face as the pieces of her fragmented memory of the events in the field fall together: the dark figure at the edge of the clearing, the hatchet buried in the back of her assailant, the feverish dreams of darkness, the deep voice throughout her dreams…these were all aspects of the truth, of what really happened.

“Annie, you’re at Hickey’s farm. It’s Sunday, July 26th.”


	19. The Safe Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie is home.

**July 26th, 2020**

**Hickey's Farm**

The first thing Annie says when she wakes up again is that she really has to pee and could Shirley pretty please remove the IV line from her arm. Jeff stands by awkwardly before Shirley ahems him out of the room in her sweetly threatening way. She helps Annie take careful steps to the washroom on bruised and bloodied feet.

Only later when Annie looks in the mirror and hardly recognizes the person staring back at her does she start to fully comprehend her situation. She is alive and very much injured but she very much alive. The voices and people are real and they are her family, and they are here. The world didn’t end in that field with that horrible man. She runs her hands through the water in the sink, contemplates its existence, and looks up to Shirley with a questioning look.

“You shouldn’t be surprised that Hickey rigged all of this up.”

“You’re right,” Annie croaks with her hoarse voice.

“Don’t tell Jeffrey that I get first dibs.”

“First dibs on wha…”

Shirley envelops Annie in a crushing hug. Annie ignores the pain in her body as she returns the affection with all of her might.

“What about your boys?”

“They’re with their father,” Shirley murmurs against Annie’s shoulder. “And they are safe.”

Annie inhales a sob of relief and squeezes Shirley harder. They are interrupted by creaking floorboards and the soft rumblings of a very eager study group on the other side of the door. Shirley steps in front of Annie protectively as she slowly opens the door.

“Now take it easy with An-nie…or you’ll be answering to me.”

She steps aside and Annie finally sees in one room the group of people that she traveled through Hell to reach. There are not many dry eyes as each member steps forward gingerly and embraces their heroine. What must've been morphine still lingers in her system, and the entire moment seems like a dream she has been chasing her entire life. She places her trembling hands on Britta’s pregnant form and allows the tears to flow freely down her face as she smiles at the entire group.

“I’ve…I’ve wanted this every day..to see you all again…” Her voice is small and her vision is blurry. “And…I’m so sorry. If I’ve caused you any pain. You were all with me every day out there. You made this journey with me. I, um, I’m sorry if I’m not making any sense. What I’m trying to say is…I love you guys.”

The group surrounds her in a gentle, yet full embrace with each member speaking soft comforts to welcome Annie home. She feels the exhaustion wash over her again as she is guided to sit on the foot of the bed. The sun has begun to set and Shirley informs Annie that they must get the property ready for the night. Annie is not quite sure what that means entirely, but the rest of the group filters out while the tallest member lingers by the doorway.

Annie shakes the fog from her brain as she looks up at Jeff.

“It was you…in the field…”

“Annie, look, you’ve been through a lot.”

“Jeff. It was you.”

She stands on wobbly legs and makes her way slowly over to him. She cranes her neck to peer up at his face.

“You saved my life.”

“Annie, I-“

He is cut off by the one hundred or so pounds of human that slams against him in a tight embrace. He immediately wraps his arms around her body, lifting Annie off her feet and crushing her to his frame. She feels him inhale a shaky breath against her neck as he fights back the sob that racks his body.

_She’s home._

*******

**Three days later…**

Annie quietly enters the small washroom off of her bedroom with one of the gas lanterns. They conserve the electricity when they can. Night has returned and instead of fitful sleep she finds herself staring back in the mirror again. It has been three days since she was rescued. Her hair hasn’t seen a straightener in months and the once tight curls have been pulled down to loose tendrils by her long locks. The scar over her eye is pink and small. Her black eye has nearly healed. She pulls her shirt down over her shoulder to see the bandage still covering her stab wound.

She hears shuffling on the porch and knows that the night watch has begun. She wonders how long it will be until they let her share in the responsibility. Jeff has been very protective over her since she first arrived and only encourages light-duty tasks for her. They talk regularly but about nothing in particular. Most conversations involve him catching her up to speed about the property and the intricacies of Hickey’s design. On the second day she asks him about Kacey. He tells her it is all okay as if Kacey is the furthest thing from his mind.

When he was out of the house and down by the property edge with Hickey earlier that afternoon, Troy snuck her into the barn to help brew beer. It felt wonderful to pick up the five-gallon pot of wort and actually get her hands dirty. Troy laughed at her scrunched up expression when she tried some of his more experimental brews.

She hasn’t really slept since she arrived. She would dose off periodically before waking from a terrible dream where she suffered more than a stab wound. She would sit at the tiny desk in the dark and sit wide-eyed until the sun began to peak through the curtains.

On this night she returns from the washroom, extinguishes the lantern, and contemplates her sleeping place. After setting the lantern down, she climbs precariously on the desk before hoisting herself onto the top of the large bookcase. She emits only a tiny grunt from the pain but is able to huddle on the corner of the shelf while facing the entire room. She can see all entrances and exits to her quarters and feels safer than she ever felt on the bed. It reminds her of the long nights she spent in the trees, huddled and tied against the trunk in order to catch some rest. She lets a shaky breath escape and feels her exhaustion begin to overtake her.

She hears the creak of wood from outside her bedroom door. She admonishes herself for not bringing the blade with her to the top of the bookcase. She holds her breath as she listens for any tell-tale signs of who or _what_ is at her door. A soft knock reaches her ears and a choked gasp escapes her throat. Her door swings open slowly and Jeff steps into the room.

“Annie?” He is confused to not see her sleeping form in the bed. He glances around the room before landing on Annie huddled in the corner. “Wha-what are you doing up there?”

“I uh, I just thought I’d do some light reading,” she breathes.

He chuckles softly in the dark before entering the room and shutting the door. He takes a few careful steps over to where she is perched. “I know you’ve been gone from civilization for a while but a ‘bed’ is a thing that humans sleep on when they are tired.”

She would swat his chest if she weren’t so high up.

“Trees. The trees were the safest place to sleep out there.”

“You’re safe _here_ , Annie.”

“I know, but I can’t sleep down there,” she nods to the bed.

“You could fall. There’s no way you’re going to get quality sleep up there.”

Jeff takes a few more careful steps to the bookcase before losing himself in brief contemplation. He then reaches his arms up to her and waggles his fingers like he is trying to coax out a scared animal.

“Here, come here.”

Annie shakes her head before pulling her legs closer to her body.

“Annie.”

She swallows her pride before scooting to the edge of the shelf. She dangles her legs and lets Jeff wrap his large hands around her waist. He effortlessly lifts her from the bookcase and instead of setting her down he moves to wrap his entire body around her as she wraps her arms and legs around him. She clings to him as silent tears begin falling down her face. He must know she is crying as he presses his cheek against her now damp one.

They stay there for several moments, listening to each other breathe. He maneuvers her small frame until he is cradling her in his arms. Annie is carried over to her bed and placed gently under the covers.

“Let’s try a different tactic,” Jeff whispers.

He removes his shoes and crawls into bed beside her. Once he can tell that Annie has no qualms about this new arrangement he wraps his body around hers again. She burrows her face between his neck and shoulder and takes a deep breath. He begins to delicately stroke her hair while mumbling gentle words into the crown of her head.

“You are home now. You are safe,” Jeff repeats.

Jeff feels the tension leave Annie’s small frame and allows her to nuzzle closer against his chest. He continues to comb his hand through her hair as he wraps her tighter with his other arm. He has never felt safer in his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not over yet! These last few chapters have been difficult to write, but bear with me. Let me know what you think!


	20. The Fourth Day

**Day Four, 2020**

**Morning**

**Hickey’s Farm**

Day Four begins with an elaborate breakfast in the big farmhouse. Jeff eases himself out of Annie’s bed, gives her hand a squeeze, and leaves through the window. He re-enters the house fifteen minutes later in new clothes, characteristically disheveled hair, and no indication to the others that he spent the night with her. Annie hobbles on sore legs to the large table as Shirley and Craig maneuver around each other to stage the meal. Annie watches quietly as Craig moves his place setting to Jeff’s left, edging hers further down toward Shirley’s. Annie recognizes the familiar layout of the table and nostalgically accepts Craig’s adjustment.

Things get interesting when Hickey’s eyebrows shoot up as Frankie quickly settles into what may have originally been “his seat.” This is quickly followed by a scuffle between Chang and Troy for the corner seat. Chang distracts Troy with a “Look! Over there!” before sliding into the chair. Troy seems momentarily distraught before he finds a new, _better_ seat between his best friend and the future mother of his child. Elroy seems quite content to sit between Shirley and his new, old friend Hickey.

Plates are passed around and filled with food from the farm. Hickey had been quite industrious over the years since leaving Greendale. Who knew the gravestone business could be so lucrative?

Plates are filled and Shirley clears her throat to draw the attention of the table.

“I wanted to say a few things before today’s meal,” she coos, slapping the fork out of Chang’s hand.

The table stills. Annie shifts nervously in her seat before Jeff gives her a lopsided grin.

“There is so much to say about the state of things. About where we are and what has happened. But the craziest thing of all, I feel so incredibly _blessed_. My boys are safe, my body’s intact, and now…my family is complete again.”

The table erupts into cheers before dissolving into jovial conversation and plenty of eggs and bacon.

*******

**Day Four, 2020**

**Mid-Afternoon**

**Hickey’s Farm**

Annie doesn’t mind her vantage point, sitting on a boulder down by the river at the edge of the property while a very tall and very shirtless man chops wood nearby. She’s pretending to stitch up her pack while sneaking glances at the modern-day lumberjack in her periphery. It still gets warm in the middle of the day here with the sun beating down. She watches Jeff bring down the maul swiftly as the split pieces of wood fall easily to the ground. She bites her lip and continues tying off another knot to mark another day passed. The sun reflects off of the sheen of sweat on Jeff’s back, and as he pauses to stand he catches a side glance from Annie. She turns away to hide her blush, suddenly finding her backpack far more interesting than it was five seconds ago. She can hear that Jeff has not continued with his manly wood-chopping and instead she can hear his footsteps coming towards her across the grass.

He passes by her with a smug look on his face and bends down at the water to dampen a rag that he then wipes across the back of his neck. He squeezes out the remainder of the water in the rag as droplets of water trail down his abdomen. He bends down again when Annie decides to coyly stretch out her leg in relaxation, causing her tiny, worn flat to fall to the ground. She emits a squeak as the shoe settles near Jeff’s feet. He interrupts his preening to throw the rag over his shoulder before kneeling down to gingerly pick up her shoe. He takes a few steps toward Annie on the boulder. His broad frame casts a shadow on her as she smiles up at him with the most innocence she can muster. Jeff lets a crooked smile escape as he reaches out to wrap a hand around her calf. He startles her by raising her leg a few inches as he re-situates the shoe on her foot. He lets his hand slide back down her calf to her ankle before settling her leg back down on the rock. His thumb brushes softly a few times against her leg before he fully releases her.

“You dropped your shoe,” he murmurs quietly, grinning like a fool.

His eyes linger on her calf before tracing up to her knee where he can see the remnants of an injury incurred during her journey. His grin dissolves and Jeff hesitates for a moment before reaching out to lightly trace the scar with his rough fingers. Annie stutters out a breath and loosens her grasp on her pack as it falls to the ground. Jeff pauses his ruminations and slides his hand off her knee. He then places both hands on the boulder on either side of her as he leans forward towards her face. There is a frown that deepens his features as he looks into her eyes, searching for something.

“Does it hurt?”

Annie’s light gasp fills the air between them as she considers both his proximity and his question.

“Not anymore.”

Jeff seems satisfied with her answer although not entirely convinced. He remains looming over her on the boulder as the river flows past. Annie leans a few millimeters closer before reaching up her hand to trace a scar over Jeff’s brow, undoubtedly from one of his skirmishes in the woods.

“Does it hurt?”

Jeff pauses before answering as he sees the same sorrow mirrored back at him.

“…sometimes.”

Annie runs her finger over the scar one more time before grasping the sides of Jeff’s face and placing a soft kiss across the scar. She holds her lips to his brow momentarily before they both hear Shirley’s announcement for dinner.

***

**Day Four, 2020**

**Late Afternoon**

**Hickey’s Farm**

Annie finds herself involved in a heated game of football with Troy and company after dinner. She feels more like an accessory as everyone is afraid to tackle her, so she uses it to her advantage as she weaves between the other players.

Annie chases down an errant football as it bounces chaotically against the door to Jeff’s small cabin. It bumps the door open and finally settles on the wooden floor. She hesitates at the door before stepping carefully inside to retrieve the ball. Hearing Jeff’s voice echo across the field as he talks to Hickey assures her that he is distracted and perhaps won’t mind if she helps herself.

Stepping into the quiet cabin, Annie’s attention is immediately drawn to the bed that has hardly been slept in since she arrived. The air is still, curtains are drawn, and the small building consists of only one room and a bathroom. She hesitates before stepping over to the football that has settled on the ground beside a small wooden desk. The desk is overflowing with maps, scribbled notes, and a small folded picture. Her curiosity wins out and she reaches to unfold the picture. It’s of her.

***

**FBI Academy Graduation 2018**

**Quantico, Virginia**

“Okay Special Agent, I’m going to need proof of this night,” Jeff drawls, slowed by alcohol and by pure, unencumbered glee.

“Jeeeeffff.”

Annie is teetering precariously on a stool by the bar, empty drink in hand. She pushes the empty glass away out of the frame before attempting to compose herself for the photo ambush. Jeff fumbles with his phone as he tries different angles while snapping dozens of photos.

“Okay Jeff, I think that’s enough,” Annie laughs.

“One more, for posterity. Just…be yourself,” he mumbles huskily.

Annie quirks her eyebrow, slightly confused by his sudden change in demeanor. She shakes it off, allowing a small, soft smile to develop on her face. She hears the tiny shutter click.

“That’s it,” he declares, pocketing his phone.

***

**Day Four, 2020**

**Late Afternoon**

**Hickey’s Farm**

She trails her fingers over the photo before shifting her gaze to the elaborate maps and penciled-in coordinates that detail an extensive search for something or someone. She is able to follow the lines from the location of the farmhouse, back through miles and _miles_ of terrain, finally landing on the site of the bus rendezvous point. Her eyes are then drawn to the margin of the map where she sees Jeff’s scribbled repetition of a single name.

_Annie._

_Annie._

_Annie._

Quiet footsteps enter the cabin. Annie hears the visitor approach and pause inches behind her. She knows who it is.

“You…never gave up,” she whispers.

“Of course not,” Jeff blurts.

“You could have _died_ out there,” Annie pleas as she turns to face him.

“Annie, I was dying in here.” His face is distraught and completely wrecked by emotion.

She allows her gaze to fall to the floor and begins fumbling with her hands.

“I-I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused. For Kacey. For what you’ve lost. For what everyone has lost.”

He lifts her chin until there is a direct line of sight between them. He steps closer, bringing his other hand to her face. His thumb trembles slightly before softly grazing across her bottom lip. She emits a small gasp as tears stream down her face. Jeff presses his lips to the tears on her cheek.

A rustling at the door breaks them apart as Troy barrels into the cabin.

“Annie! There you are! Come on, we can’t let Chang win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for hanging in there! Let me know what you think.


	21. The Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie and Jeff spend some quality time in the Great Outdoors.

**Day Nine, Early August, 2020**

**Hickey’s Farm**

“Saddle up, Edison, time to bring home the bacon,” Jeff bellows down the hallway of the large farmhouse, ignoring the gagging sounds from Britta in the kitchen. Annie skips excitedly into the foyer with her pack already strapped to her back. She barely contains her giddiness as she prepares to go on her first excursion since arriving on the property. Jeff shifts two fly fishing rods to his other shoulder as he appraises her ensemble with an appreciative look on his face.

“We’re going fishing, not trying to get our outdoors merit badge, Scout,” he laughs.

“Jeff! This is what I wore on the trail. _”_ She rolls her eyes as she shows off her bandana, compass, blade, boots, and skintight shorts. “It _works._ ”

“I’ll say,” Jeff whispers as his eyes travel down her legs.

Britta clears her throat from the doorway of the kitchen. Her very pregnant belly protrudes into the hallway.

“Remember moron, bring home _fish_ this time,” she scolds.

Annie shoots Britta a confused look.

“Oh, Annie. Last time he brought back five very fuzzy and very cute bunny rabbits for us to eat.” Britta flips her long, blonde hair over her shoulder as she glares at Jeff.

“Look, Britta, just because you let your unborn child dictate your diet doesn’t mean I need to cater to it.”

“Britta, you eat meat now?” Annie gasps.

“Baby Nugget allows me to eat fish, but that’s it. Certainly not bunnies,” she quips, rubbing her hand across her abdomen in soothing circles.

Jeff rolls his eyes before dodging a dish rag missile launched from his pregnant friend. Victory and smugness flash across his features at the look of defeat on Britta’s face.

“What am I not good at?” he crows.

Britta sighs loudly before turning to head back into the kitchen, but not before one last parting jab.

“Fishing.”

*******

“It’s just a little further up ahead, right?” Annie asks, slightly winded from the long trek along the river. Keeping up with the long legs of a 6’4” giant has proven to be more challenging than she predicted. Still recovering from her previous adventure, she’s more than grateful to see Jeff nod his head.

He comes to a stop about ten yards ahead and rests the fishing rods against an old tree. Slinging down his large pack, Jeff bends over to roll up the legs of his pants. He swaps his boots out for a pair of ratty sneakers and begins rifling around in the pack again. He produces another pair of smaller, even rattier sneakers and tosses them through the air to Annie.

“Here you go, Scout.”

Annie grimaces at the shoes before taking the hint to swap out her boots as well. 

“The secret to fly fishing is to read the river.”

Annie fights to contain the amusement on her face as she absorbs his words.

“Trout are looking for rest, food, and security. We all are.”

“Ok, who are you and what have you done with Jeff Winger?” Annie guffaws.

Jeff laughs a little too before shaking his head. He stands to his full height and slowly advances towards Annie with a lopsided grin on his face.

“Desperate times and all…” He says softly.A few more steps later and he stops in front of Annie. He reaches up to brush a small twig out of her hair.

“The outdoorsy look suits you,” she grins up at him.

Jeff preens a bit before reaching for the straps on Annie’s shoulders. His fingers graze her arms as he gently lowers her pack to the ground.

“It’s time to learn, Edison.”

Ten minutes later, Annie finds herself up to her knees in the swift, cool water of the river. She holds the fly rod awkwardly as Jeff rambles on about casting technique, good loops, bad loops, and something about nymphs. She is partially interested in how he came to learn about fly fishing and wholly distracted by the way his shoulders seem to be bulging out of his t-shirt. The Great Outdoors seem to suit Jeff, both physically and mentally. He is calm and completely unburdened as his fly line dances through the air.

She thinks back to the old Jeff, the man in track pants and a blazer, who waltzed into a study room full of strangers with his penchant for manipulation and preference for the easy way out. This person before her now, the man with smile lines and a graying beard, is not a departure from the old self, but the evolution of a human who has learned to love himself and the family he chooses. He is the man who risked his life every day looking for her, the man who sacrificed his own safety and his cell phone too, probably, to find her and bring her home.

*******

About an hour later and Annie is a self-proclaimed pro at fly fishing, except that really she is as skilled at this as she is at acting. Jeff can’t stop smiling or laughing at her technique as she brings back nothing but twigs and leaf debris from the cool waters. It doesn’t matter to him, not really, that this amazing human is not very good at fly fishing. All that matters is the fact that this person is with him now, safe and very much alive.

He is amazed by how her optimism perseveres, despite catching zero fish and surviving months in the wilderness with death at her heels. Jeff realizes that he is not too surprised by her ability to overcome these things, seeing as though Annie excelled in life, not in spite of, but because of the adversity of shitty parents, a drug addiction, and a less than desirable early childhood.

The selfish part of him wants to freeze time here with her in the river. She is finally back with him in a world where the study group lives in a big house, safe from the perils of the end of the world. Moving neither forward nor behind, he could exist alongside Annie in a limbo of unspoken feelings and hidden truths. What would his truth be, if he should speak it to her? Would his truth be that his heart stopped beating the moment she vanished into the forest, that he finally understands how true love knows no geographical distance, career ambitions, or age gaps? 

His thoughts are distracted by the small frustrated squeaks from Annie as she battles the fly rod in her hands. Jeff shakes his head free of his immediate thoughts to navigate through the slippery rocks to get to her side.

“Having some trouble?” He laughs.

“Shut up, Jeff.” Annie tries to move away from him across the rocks. He stays her escape with a hand laid gently on her shoulder.

“Whoa there, Scout. Just trying to help.” Jeff then moves fully behind her and brings his arms around her to steady her hands on the fly rod. “Your movements are too jerky. Just take a deep breath…,” He moves closer behind her back so that she can feel the rise and fall of his chest. “…and bring your arm back like this…” He guides her arm with his as her line makes a sweeping loop through the air before its release.

Annie’s frustration is gone. She stands still in the water with Jeff breathing against her back. The only sound is the rushing of the river. Her line catches nothing, but she doesn’t care. Jeff’s arms move around her until she is fully wrapped in his embrace. She feels him nuzzle into her hair and rest his cheek against her head. She shifts and turns around in his hold, looking up into his eyes, struck by the peace that she finds there. He moves his footing on the rocks as well to allow her the space to see his face.

“Jeff, I…”

The world shifts suddenly when Jeff loses his footing on the slick rock, tumbling backward into a pool. Annie falls with him as they become submerged in the waters. They come up for air, laughing and tangled with the fly rods. In the chaos of soaked clothes and bruised elbows, Annie sneaks a quick kiss to Jeff’s cheek. He moves his head to slide his lips across hers in a brief moment of contact before a rumble of thunder breaks them apart. Jeff looks to the sky, seeing the distant thunderhead and knowing that the light will fade quicker into night because of it. He makes no attempt to hide his frustration as he helps Annie to her feet.

“We should get back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a sweet and fun chapter to write. Hope you enjoy!


	22. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. Work has been crazy busy.

**September 17th, 2020**

**Hickey’s Farm**

Warmth, light, and a lightly-snoring man with an above-average forehead. These are things Annie wakes up to on a post-apocalyptic Thursday. Jeff’s weight in the bed has caused her to roll down against the broad expanse of his back. She stretches her legs, still sore from another hike to the river, and nuzzles into the space between his shoulder blades. Her tiny squeak of contentment is all it takes to stir the sleeping giant awake. She hears his breathing shallow as he orients himself to the morning. Annie barely escapes being crushed as he rolls over to face her.

“Morning,” he rasps into her shoulder as he lets his lips graze her skin there. “I had the strangest dream that a midget was clinging to my back.”

“Shut up,” Annie laughs as she playfully pushes away at his chest.

His low laugh rumbles through his chest as Jeff wraps his arm around Annie’s small frame and pulls her to his chest. She listens to his slow heart beat and reaches her hand to trace his bearded jaw. He pulls back to peer into her face with a look of trepidation on his features.

“I..uh…I was thinking…” Annie breaks the silence.

“Yeah?” Jeff breathes as she continues her light touches on his face.

“I was thinking…that we should-”

“Uh-huh?” Jeff edges closer to her in the bed. She fills his leg slide in between hers.

“-go fishing more often. I’m getting pretty good at it.”

She feels Jeff relax slightly with his eyes falling to the side as if he is contemplating her idea. A quiet and sharp smirk flashes across his face before his eyes flit back to hers. He tightens his grip on her waist and rolls Annie further onto her back. He looms over her, undoubtedly on the precipice of a smart ass comment before a loud banging on the door interrupts this plan of attack.

“ANNIE!” Troy screeches through the door. Both occupants of the bed tense in preparation for danger or bad new. “Pancakes?”

Jeff slumps against her before relinquishing a sigh and rolling out of bed. He slips back on his pair of tired shoes and is absent-mindedly running his had through his hair as he stops to look back over at Annie sitting up with a mess of hair across her face. He smiles.

“I’ll see you at breakfast. I hear we’re having pancakes,” he smirks again. And with that Jeff silently crawls out the window and makes his way across the property back to his tiny building.

***

It turns out Annie needs help to make pancakes for an entire compound of people. She is busy with making another stack as Shirley busies herself with mixing more batter. Jeff breezes through the door of the house and pauses in the kitchen momentarily to grab an apple. He reaches over Annie into the fruit bowl with a smile and a flourish before Shirley deftly slaps the apple out of his hand.

“You know I’m making apple pies for later. Hands off,” she lectures.

Annie turns out of curiosity to face Shirley who is brushing the rescued apple off on her apron.

“Later?”

“Well yeah, Annie, for the party?”

Annie can tell Jeff is watching her from the corner of her eye. She can also tell he is smiling like a jackass again.

“We’re having a party?”

“Jeff, you didn’t tell her?”

“No, Shirley. Duh. It’s a surprise.” He turns to Annie fully in the small kitchen. “Annie, we’re having a party.”

Annie can barely contain her excitement as she slaps his shoulder and nearly spills an entire plate of pancakes.

“What’s the occasion?”

“It’s September 17th, Annie.” He looks at her while tilting his head in a meaningful way.

Annie’s eye widen in realization of the importance of the date. A grin tugs at her face as she blinks back a few unruly tears. Of course. September 17th. The day they all came together, eleven whole years ago. Her first family.

She barely hears Shirley’s recollection of all the plans for the day. It will all culminate in a later afternoon party that will be well over before the darkness sets in. These are the last warm days of the year for them in Montana. Her only regret is that there is not a cookie cake for the occasion, but an apple pie will do.

Jeff laughs and shakes his head as he exits the kitchen while Shirley and Annie excitedly discuss food and the music located on Britta’s ancient iPod that may or may not still work.

***

Hickey’s wraparound porch serves as a great late afternoon party location. The wood floor has been smoothed down by traffic and Britta is rocking back and forth on barefoot while cradling a very pregnant belly. She hums along to some 90s alternative rock back while Abed and Troy are engaged in a heated game of cornhole on the lawn with Frankie and Elroy.

Annie sips at some of Troy’s latest, most interesting brew, fighting to hide her scrunched face behind the mug. Craig sings along softly to the iPod as he sits with Chang on a makeshift porch swing. Hickey and Jeff mumble to each other back and forth about the best cut of meat as they brood over the steaks on the brick fire pit.

It’s still an hour or so before they should pack in for the night. Annie refills her mug at the keg and joins Britta to sway with the music. Shirley joins and it’s the original three women together again. There is no _Roxanne_ playing but they are happy to step up the dancing a notch. Troy abandons the game and swoops in to take Britta in his arms. She’s too pregnant to use her best moves and is content to sway in his arms. Annie twirls softly in an old, faded sundress, focused intently on not spilling a drop of her beer. She twirls again and straight into the broad chest of Jeff.

“Easy there, Edison,” he laughs. He grabs her beer, finishes it, and places his left hand on her waist while grabbing her right in his. “Care to dance?”

Things devolve from there into a late afternoon rager (by Annie’s standards). Britta remains pleased but disappointedly sober as she nibbles on a slice of apple pie. Abed and Troy are still bouncing around with Chang and Craig as the iPod lives out its battery power. Jeff and Annie remain attached to each other on the wooden dance floor, mixing clumsy maneuvers and boisterous laughter. Annie has lost her shoes at some point and Jeff cranes his neck further towards her to whisper jokes and other punchlines into her ear.

He twirls her again across the wooden floor again before she suddenly lets out a small sound of distress and grabs her foot. Jeff surrounds her immediately as if she has been shot and slides his hand down her leg to the afflicted foot.

“I think it’s a splinter.”

“Annie, let me see.”

“Ow Jeff! I got it.”

The two struggle to get a good look at Annie’s wounded foot before Jeff gives up entirely and scoops her into his arms.

“We’ll be back,” he tells the group as he enters the house with a protesting Annie in tow.

“And with that I think it’s time we start wrapping up,” Hickey adds. The sun is setting fast and the group begins to gather up empty cups, plates, and abandoned cornhole boards.

***

Jeff helps Annie hobble into the bathroom and scoops her up and onto the small vanity. He crouches and lifts her foot to study the offending splinter.

“Jeff, I’m okay,” Annie sighs.

He continues to fuss with her injury as if she is bleeding out or being strapped to a spine board. Annie notices a small tremor in his hands as he rubs the now splinter-free foot.

“ _Jeff._ ”

He stops and looks up at her with wild eyes. The tremor stops but he seems out of breath and slightly terrified.

“What’s wrong? Jeff…” She reaches down and cups his jaw.

“Annie. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

“It’s just…seeing you hurt…hearing you…”

“It freaked you out, huh?” Annie whispers softly.

“…yeah."

Jeff calms himself as he wipes his hands down his jeans while Annie tidies up the vanity. She turns to face Jeff as he suddenly wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest.

“Annie…” He lets out a small distressed noise as she wraps her arms around his neck.

“You’ve got me. You’ve got me now.”

He pulls back and looks down into her face. His large hand rests on her cheek as he brings her forehead to his lips. They stand like that, surrounding by quiet and the stillness of the house. Jeff opens his mouth to speak but his voice is replaced by the loud cry of Britta and Shirley on the porch.

They rush out to the main foyer of the house to see the crowd burst through the front door with Britta at the center.

“Her water broke.”

A large smile breaks across Annie’s features as she takes in the sight of her pregnant friend about to deliver a precious life into the world. She takes several steps forward to help with the expectant mother before another cry breaks through the peace of the outdoors. More sounds rip across the property, originating from the darkness of the forest. The screeches brings the heavy weight of fear into Annie’s chest. Her heart accelerates and the adrenaline kicks in.

These are no human cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	23. The Arrival

Annie fights to steady her breathing as she secures the leather strap around her thigh. After sheathing her blade and tightening her boot laces, she straightens briefly in front of the mirror in the foyer. This momentary pause drags her away from the chaos in the house as Britta is being settled into one of the larger rooms. Shirley barks commands that register only one octave higher than Troy and Craig’s sobbing, high-pitch tones. Frankie’s voice of reason can be heard periodically during the breaks in Britta’s groans.

Jeff steps forward behind Annie and takes in her appearance: the gauzy, threadbare sundress, blade strapped to her thigh, and worn boots rising to mid-calf. He swallows audibly and files the image away in his memory bank for a later, more private time when the world is not imploding.

“I think you should stay inside. We uh-we really needs all hands on Perry with this one. You didn’t have to experience her Appendectomy Meltdown of 2018. We had to hide her antibiotics in organic pudding.” His air quotes around the word organic cause Annie to huff out a laugh as she rolls her eyes. She can tell Jeff is masking his absolute terror with humor. Typical Winger fashion.

Annie looks over to a pile of former farm tools, now make-shift weapons that Elroy has dumped at their feet. She turns around completely, coming face-to-chest with Jeff.

“You know I can’t do that,” she whispers as she smiles sadly. She had really hoped to never encounter one of those things again out there.

Jeff grasps her shoulders and shakes her gently.

“Annie…no. Please.”

“Jeff, I survived months out there. I’m not some damsel in distress.”

“Yeah, but…you’re…my-”

Jeff stops, fumbling for words to capture his exact sentiment. Abed appears in the foyer with a giant axe and a buzzing walkie talkie.

“Sugar Boots, do you read me?” Abed speaks into the surprisingly sturdy apparatus.

“Loud and clear, Batman,” Troy hiccups from the room upstairs.

Annie tries to hear the ensuing hushed conversation upstairs between Troy and Britta, but can only hear Troy’s hurried footsteps as he descends the stairs and enters into the foyer.

“Ok Abed, I can get ready in five minutes,” Troy huffs as he starts digging through the rusted tools for a weapon, pausing every few seconds to try to conceal a sniffle and wipe his eyes. “Just let me find a-“

“That’s a hard no, Sugar Boots,” Abed cuts in.

“What do you mean?”

“Your child is about to premiere. You can’t miss that. Britta needs you.”

“But…we’re a team…” Troy sniffs.

Abed places a hand softly on Troy’s shoulder and gives him a sad smile.

“I know.”

They embrace in the dusty foyer, surrounded by heaps of metal rakes and shovels. The double pats from their handshake echo throughout the house. She hears Troy head back upstairs. Annie grabs Jeff’s arm and they slowly back out of the foyer and onto the porch with chosen weapons in hand. She shifts the two short-handled scythes in her hands as Jeff performs a few test swings with his axe.

Annie prays that Jeff cannot see her trembling lips or hear her shaky breaths as she peers out across the property to the tree-line. The makeshift fence that has been erected around the land is modest at best. She hopes that the ten or so feet of pine planks will at least slow down the creatures that she hears crashing through the woods.

Elroy and Hickey emerge from one of the small buildings on the property, carrying what look like large metal back-packs with hose attachments. Hickey ascends the small wooden steps onto the porch and slides a heavy metal object into Annie’s hands. She peers down at the 9 mm in her hand and her muscle memory from the academy allows her to quickly inspect and mold her hands around the gun. 

“Okay Edison. You’re the best shot.”

The group turns to look at her in silence as she engages the safety and slides the gun into the pocket of her sundress.

“Only use it if you absolutely have to,” Hickey mumbles. Annie nods.

Abed steps forward with a wild-eyed Chang in tow. Chang wields two dangerous-looking machetes in both hands with a faint glint of bloodlust in his eyes. Of course Chang was built for this. The crackle of Abed’s walkie talkie breaks through the tense silence.

“Batman, this is Sugar Boots. What’s the game plan?”

Abed depresses the button on the walkie talkie before meeting the eyes of each person on the porch. Jeff shifts his weight, half-expecting to witness him lean in to whisper nonsense while an imaginary camera pans away.

“Chang and I will take the west corner. Annie and Jeff…north corner. Elroy and Buzz will hang back in case…those things make it through us.”

Annie knows the east and south corners are luckily protected by large rock faces and boulders that connect up to the higher mountain range behind them. It’s a gamble to consider those corners impenetrable, but they are left with little choice. Her attention is drawn again to the weird metal backpacks on Elroy and Hickey. The thick smell of fuel reaches her nose as she takes in the apparatus on Elroy’s back. A screech tears through the forest and her inspection immediately ceases.

“It’s been an honor serving with you,” Abed speaks softly to the group on the porch and through the walkie talkie. He pats Chang’s shoulder and the two take off to the west corner of the property.

Elroy and Hickey leave the porch and spread out in the grass surrounding the house. Annie readjusts the scythes in her hands and nods to Jeff. His grip tightens on the axe and he follows her down the wooden steps and into the grass. They sprint swiftly and quietly to the north corner as the howls of the creatures grow louder.

They situate themselves about ten feet from the fence-line with weapons ready. Jeff risks a glance at Annie who is chewing her lip nervously.

“Hey,” Jeff whispers, drawing her attention. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Annie turns to him fully, the tension leaving her body immediately. She smiles back with watery eyes, giving a small nod in return. Jeff loosens his grip on the axe and takes the strides needed to reach her. He cups her face and lifts it while wiping a stray tear that escapes down her cheek.

“I love you. You know that, right?” He asks.

A broken sob leaves her throat as she tilts up on her toes to brush her lips against his. Jeff deepens the kiss immediately as his hand moves to thread through her hair. They pull apart to breathe, laugh, and cry softly at their circumstance.

A loud screech shreds the moment as a large mass crashes against the fence. Annie blinks back to reality and raises the scythes in a defensive stance as Jeff adjusts his grip on the axe. 

They are ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the major delay. Please let me know what you think!


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